


SPARK

by doctorstrife



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Aka the KH/FF crew is texting, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crossover, Elemental Magic, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Modern technology, Original Character(s), POV First Person, Psychological Trauma, Reader-Insert, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:20:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 72,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22137724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorstrife/pseuds/doctorstrife
Summary: The balance between light and dark is, and has never been, fragile.Both have been at war with one another since the dawn of time.Unable to exist without the other's presence, but also unable to occupy the same space at the same time.They push and pull against each other.Strong enough to never give way, but too weak to fully envelop the other.This was the nature of the balance.Persistant.Foreseen.Eternal?[no amount of darkness can hide a spark of light.]
Relationships: Axel (Kingdom Hearts)/Reader, Cloud Strife/Reader, Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)/Reader, Zack Fair/Reader
Comments: 18
Kudos: 62





	1. prologue.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a reader insert KH/FF crossover with a good dose of Disney sprinkled throughout.

The world was a blank canvas. 

A solid, white marble floating in a twilight colored pool. I stared ahead at the swirling colors in the sky. The sun didn’t exist here and yet the colors never faded or changed. It was as if this little excuse of a world was perpetually stuck in the moment’s before a day’s end. Which was fitting really.

The yellow hues mingled with the orange glow and the dark red on the horizon almost matched the puddle of dark red that seemed to grow beneath my knees. 

A throaty chuckle filled the air as he stalked by me yet again. His glowing yellow eyes shot me a passing glance from over his shoulder, but he kept walking. Was he going to circle the world again? That would give me a solid three minutes, at the least. 

I tried to suck in a sharp breath, but it came out as a pitiful gurgle. My lungs were filling with blood. The agonizing pain had once again morphed into an aching numbness. Time was passing. He’d be here again. 

My body screamed to move, to pull out the sword that was jammed into my chest and out my back. 

My body longed to rise and find my own weapon which had been kicked aside earlier. 

My body wanted to keep fighting, but for the first time since my arrival my mind didn’t agree. 

I was tired. 

I was so very tired. I didn’t even crave death today like I usually did. I was just empty.

“Still on your knees?”

He was back. Not surprising. He never stayed gone for too long. He was like a drug addict, and I was his unwilling poison of choice.

“Don’t tell me you’re done? We’ve only just started.” His presence was right behind me. The blade started to move back and forth in my chest as he wiggled it and I rattled out a pained gasp only to start choking on the blood more. He chuckled again and stepped around to face me.

I didn’t look up at his face, and instead let my eyes settle on his armored abdomen.

“It’s only been 17 years, [Name]. How do you expect to last the century if you can’t even make it to the second decade?”

He suddenly knelt down so we were face to face. His was a face I wanted nothing to do with. It was one I longed to purge from my memory, and yet ironically enough his stupid face was one I had burned into my mind down to every tiny detail. From to the constellation of freckles sprinkled across his nose, to the sharp edge of his broad jawline. His round eyes hadn’t always been an ugly, demonic yellow and they hadn’t always been filled with a burning anger. They used to be bright and happy. They used to be filled with energy and hope. 

“If you’re too tired, there’s any easy way to end this.” He hummed. He lifted his hand and let his fingers trail along my jaw slowly, “Just give in.”

I managed to sum up enough energy to feebly shake my head at him. He sighed and with a swift movement ripped his sword from my chest. I screamed, but it was cut short by him slamming his other hand into my face and knocking me to the ground.

The sky just above me was tinged with a leftover blue. It was so tiny that it was hardly even noticeable, I wondered if it was even really there or if my mind was imaging it. I stared at it hopelessly and tried my best to ignore the new, familiar waves of pain. I stared and tried to ignore the warm blood pooling beneath my back, soaking into the uncovered edges of my shirt. I stared and prayed, begged, that he would just walk away. If he left me alone long enough the blood would disappear, the wounds would heal, without even a scar to prove they had happened, and my clothes would go back to being fresh and new. That was my new, eternal life. That was my curse.

“It would be so easy!” He stood over me with his arms crossed. There was blood sprinkled in his dark blond bangs and I was pretty positive it was mine, “Fight for me instead of against me. With your strength and mine, we could get out of here. We could escape.”

“Jax.” I spat the name out, blood spraying out in an ugly mist then fell back to my face, “You’re going to be here forever. You’re never getting out.”

Jax narrowed his eyes at me again. That anger and hatred burning into me. Suddenly, he lifted his leg and brought it down onto the center of my chest. I felt my ribs snap, could hear their sickening crunch, but I couldn’t even gasp out. “You’ll be here with me. Forever and ever, darling.”

The pain was overwhelming, and the edges of my vision were starting to go black. The creeping darkness was a welcome sight. I’ve never passed out here. I’ve never had that luxury before. The darkness was growing and my lips twitched up in a smile. I didn’t understand it, in fact by all accounts it made no damned sense, but I wouldn’t deny myself the pleasure of blacking out. 

Maybe, if I was lucky, I’d never wake up again.


	2. days gone by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Healing comes in waves and maybe today the wave hits the rocks  
> and that's ok,  
> that's ok, darling  
> you are still healing, you are still healing."
> 
> -Ijeoma Umebinyuo

**[DAY ONE]**

I came back into consciousness like the snapping of a rubber band. The moment my mind was even remotely aware of being alive, I pushed myself up. Staying still was the worst mistake one could make, I learned that very early on. My quick movements were halted when my legs tangled in something soft, sending my upper half forward while my lower half stayed put.

This was a bed, I was half dangling off a bed with my legs stuck in the soft sheets. Swiftly, I untangled myself and forced myself to stand. Once up, I rushed to the corner diagonal of me so my back could be against the wall. Walls. There were walls. This didn’t make any sense.

Was this some sort of trap? Some sick twist? After 17 years of non-stop fighting, was this the next form of torture? My hands tightened around my arms as I sucked in a sharp breath. Focus. Focus.

I glanced down at myself to see my clothes had been swapped out for white, loose pajamas. My armor and sword were missing altogether. The room around me was small with dark wood flooring. It was dim, with only morning light drifting through the window by the bed pushed into the opposite corner. The window was large enough for me to fit through, but it didn’t seem like it could be opened which meant it was useless to me. Straight ahead of me was a white, wooden door with a bronze handle. It was the only entrance and exit of this room. That gave me some comfort. To my right, was a small wooden desk with a matching wooden chair, but nothing sat on top of the desk. Not even a lamp that I could use as a blunt weapon. I dove forward to search the drawers. The first two were filled with nothing but loose papers, but the third had a few pens. Quickly I snatched one out and backpedaled into my corner with the pen held tightly to my chest. It was a piss poor excuse of a weapon, but desperate times called for desperate measures and I don’t think I’ve ever been this desperate.

The sound of solid footsteps filled the air and my eyes snapped to the door in determination. I had been tired before, exhausted really, but this new environment had filled me with an almost renewed energy. I didn’t know what was happening, but like hell was I going to let it catch me off guard. I’d fight whoever or _whatever_ came through that damn door. More than likely, it’d be Jax and by God was I ready to tear his face off.

The door opened cautiously and a man with light blond hair stepped in with his full attention on the bed. He wasn’t Jax and he was larger than me, but I didn’t let that deter me. I lunged forward just as his confused gaze snapped to mine. A cry slipped my lips as I threw my shoulder into his chest as hard as I could. All the air left him as we both stumbled backwards out of the room. His back hit a solid wall and I pulled back to drive the pen into the crook of his neck.

He grunted and caught my arm before it made contact, “ _Wait_!”

I yanked my arm back pulling him slightly forward as he kept his grip around my wrist and brought my knee into his groin. He gasped and released me. Rather than trying to stab him with the pen again I took this as my chance to flee. I took off to the right, but only got a few steps away when I realized this was a dead end.

“[Name].”

The voice resonated through my skull and made my stomach turn to lead. I lunged forward to a door in the corner and tried to pry it open, but it was locked. This wasn’t happening. _This wasn’t happening_. A strangled cry of frustration slipped out of me as I threw my shoulder into the door desperately. I couldn’t turn around and face this new trap. I was wrong. I couldn’t handle this new environment. I wanted to go back.

 _“[Name].”_ The voice was more desperate and I made the mistake of turning to face it. Standing only a few feet away was an older man. This hallway was darker than the room due to the lack of windows and light. Still, despite that I could see his features all too clearly. His dark hair was littered with strands of gray and his tanned skin showed signs of age. There was a scar on his face, jagged and long, it traveled from mid forehead to his cheekbone right over his right eye. The skin around it was puckered and dark, like it had healed ages ago. I recognized that cut, but the last time I had seen it it had been gushing blood.

I scrambled back until I hit the wall, “No.”

“[Name]..” His hoarse voice was wary and he took a hesitant step toward me.

“ _No, no, no_.” I slid down the wall pathetically and folded in on myself.

That wasn’t him. It couldn’t possibly be him. This was a trap. A cruel, cruel trap. I would’ve chosen to face a millennia of fighting Jax if it meant I didn’t have to face this. I couldn’t fight him.

I couldn’t fight Auron.

“[Name]-”

“Stop that! _Stop saying my name_! You’re _not_ him, you’re _not_ -” I snapped, but my voice quivered and broke. “Stay back. _Please_ stay back.”

Jax was probably watching this. Watching me cower and shake in fear and pain. The demonic asshole was probably enjoying every second of it too. What I didn’t understand was why they made Auron look so old. Was it to add to the setting I was in? To try and throw me off more so than I already was? It didn’t make sense, but then again none of this really did.

The fake Auron stepped toward me again, uncertainly, and I held my arms out protectively in front of me. Waiting for the attack that was sure to come. A flickering blue spark jumped from my middle finger to my ring finger and I gasped in shock.

That wasn’t possible.

“You have your abilities back. You can control them again.” The fake Auron spoke slowly, “It’s because you’re back. You’re back _home_.”

I shook my head and shoved my hands into my chest tightly, “ _No_. You’re _lying_. This is a trick. There was no way back. _There was no way back_!”

“I found one.” Auron took another step toward me and I pressed my back further against the wall. He paused, “It took me 17 years, but I _never_ stopped looking for you, [Name]. I made you a promise. I wasn’t going to let you down.”

“That’s impossible.” My words were a whisper.

Auron took one more step and when I didn’t flinch he took another. He was within arm’s reach. His hand was raised in surrender and I could see his fingers shaking. Auron started to look blurry and it was only then I realized I was crying.

“I’m sorry it took me so long. I’m _so_ sorry.”

I was so confused. So lost. Was this really happening? He hadn’t hurt me yet, and that was potentially a good sign? But maybe that was the plan. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to hurt me yet. Just seeing the man who had meant so much to me filled me with something I didn’t think I could feel anymore. It filled me with hope. To have that ripped away from me would be a pain worse than anything I felt over the past 17 years.

However, one thing that hadn’t been a lie were my powers. I could use my powers here. I could feel it now that I paid attention to it. The energy bristled under my skin begging and pleading to be released.

That shouldn’t be possible.

“This can’t be real. It can’t be.”

“It is. It is real. Please, [Name].” Auron knelt down in front of me, “No one is _ever_ going to hurt you again. I promise. You’re safe. You’re _home_.”

“I’m- I’m home?”

Auron nodded meekly and stretched his hand out towards me a little more. It was going to be my biggest mistake, I felt that in my bones, but in desperation I leaned forward toward him in response. I needed to feel him. To know he was solid and real.

“ _Auron_..” A deep voice spoke up and it was only then that I even remembered the blond I had attacked. He was just as quickly forgotten though when Auron continued to reach forward.

The moment his hand touched my shoulder I felt the release of energy and there was a quick flash of blue light, but Auron ignored the shock entirely. He immediately pulled me into his arms and I fell into him in response. His arms wrapped around my torso tightly. It wasn’t the physical comfort or the thought of him that eased my mind. It was his _smell_. He smelled of choji oil and something distinct and uniquely his. _He smelled like Auron_. The thought of this hit me like a ton of bricks and I could feel my heart stutter in shock. I wrapped my arms tightly around him, fearful that if I did let go it would all disappear. I could feel my entire body shaking and I couldn’t control myself as I began to loudly sob into his chest. Auron just held on tighter.

**++++**

The entire kitchen held the glow of an early morning. It was a soft light that gave the small room an airy feel. I couldn’t stop staring at the patch of solid blue on my left side through the open window. It was a beautiful contrast to the dark green tops of the forest. It was the first time I had seen those calming colors in ages. The shirt Jax wore for the past 17 years was a shade of green, but it was more olive and nothing like the gorgeous tone outside this window. Matched with the faint smell of pine and sap. God, I was in heaven. This was too good to be true. I was still waiting on the balls of my feet for all of this to be ripped away from me.

“Are you hungry?”

I forced myself to look away from the window to Auron who was just now stepping into the kitchen. He flipped the switch and the ceiling light came to life for half a second before overloading and exploding in a burst of glass. We were back to being in the natural light, and I awkwardly squirmed in place, “I’m- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

Auron shook his head, “It’s fine. It isn’t your fault.”

He grabbed a broom from a closet off to the side and I watched him start to sweep the glass up. This was all so surreal. The last time I saw Auron he had been 24 years old, lying on the ground bleeding profusely from his face, and barely holding onto consciousness. Due to his injury, he was actually one of the few people who didn’t have to watch me walk through that God forsaken portal.

Yet, here he was now.

In his forties, cleaning up glass in a small kitchen. It was almost the most unbelievable thing in the room. I forced myself to uncross my arms so I could look at my hands. I watched in awe as the familiar light blue spark danced from finger to finger in excitement.

“How do you feel?”

I clenched my fists, extinguishing the lightning, and glanced up to see Auron had moved closer. He now sat at the table in front of me with a worried gaze. He watched me as if he expected me disappear any second now. I could understand that sentiment. I was more than positive that my eyes shared the same fear.

“I’m ok.” I forced out. “Just…adjusting.”

“Would you like to sit?”

Auron motioned to the chair in front of him. Honestly, the answer was no. The thought of sitting at a table felt weirdly suffocating. If something were to happen, I wouldn’t be able to react as quickly. Being on my feet felt safer. Still, the pleading in his words had been heard loud and clear. I gave him a tense nod and slowly sat down. I kept the chair pulled back so if I needed to quickly jump up the table itself wouldn’t hinder me at all.

“[Name]-”

“What happened after I…?” I didn’t have to finish the sentence. Auron nodded in understanding and he didn’t even seem upset that I had interrupted him.

“Just as we thought, everything ended. The heartless disappeared, those under his control snapped out of it… the damage remained, of course, but there were no more enemies to face. The healing process was started.”

“Good.” I heaved a sigh. If this new reality of mine was to be believed, it was nice to hear that the plan worked. That my years of suffering weren’t for nothing. “I’m glad.”

Auron laced his fingers together in front of him, his knuckles grew white as he spoke, “[Name], I need to know-”

“What happened to me?” I cut him off again. “No, you don’t.”

“[Name]-”

“ _Stop that_.” I snapped and quickly rose to my feet. All the hair on my arms stood up and I could feel a current rolling across my skin, “You don’t need to know anything. Thank you for whatever it is you did, but if it’s true- if I really am home, then it’s _over_. I don’t need to say anything.”

Auron slowly stood, “You are home. I promise. This is no trick.” I flinched in fear, but he continued, “Merlin and I worked tirelessly until we found a spell strong enough to break through the barrier. I pulled you out of that hell just like I promised I would.”

“Thank you.” I replied, not really knowing what else to say. There was a tense pause and I knew Auron was just searching for another way to ask the same question. Quickly, I tried to change the subject, “Who was that guy?”

Auron motioned back to the chair with a raised eyebrow. I heaved a sigh and sat back down. His lips twitched into a small smile before flattening back out, “He is a friend. He can be trusted. I asked him along because he is training in white magic, I… I didn’t know what condition you would be in coming through the portal. I brought him just in case.”

“Oh. Sorry for hitting him.” My eyes darted to my laced fingers which I couldn’t stop from twisting back and forth. Each time I did a spark of light jumped between each palm. It was mesmerizing.

“I’m sure with a little practice you’ll easily be able to get your abilities back under your control.” A second passed before Auron reach across the table for my hands and I quickly pulled them off the table and folded them into my lap. Hugging him in the hall had been easy, it had been natural, but the thought of him touching me now gave me sickening feeling I couldn’t shake. The logical part of me almost couldn’t trust that touch. My brain threw images and memories of Jax’s harsh touch as a warning.

A look of hurt crossed Auron’s face though. Without hesitation, I tossed out the best excuse I had, “I don’t want to accidentally shock you, Auron.”

He nodded, “Of course. Do you want anything to eat? You must be hungry.”

I didn’t feel hungry. In fact, the thought of food kind of made me a bit nauseous for some reason, but I gave him a smile and nod. It would give me a moment to myself at the least. Auron rose from his seat and began making food. I pulled my knees up into my seat and wrapped my arms around them as I watched him work.

Auron had been such an important person in my life. One of the most important without a doubt. After losing my parents early to the war, I had basically moved in with him and his mom. He was the older brother I had always longed for. I had his back and he had mine. There was no battle that we had gone into alone, minus the one that sent me on the path into the portal.

I tried to remember the last time I had seen him, but it was actually quite difficult. Early on during my time in that alternate dimension with Jax, I had tried to think of the people I loved. I thought it might help me stay strong, keep me on my feet longer, but the memories had quickly turned to poison. They just caused me to long for a world I was no longer a part of, a reality I wasn’t allowed to partake in, and that hurt.

“How is Mika?” I spoke up. Auron was in the middle of cooking something over the stove top.

He spared me a quick glance, but kept most his attention on the food, “She’s well. Mother moved back to Bevelle a few years ago. She’s missed you.”

Mika Braska had taken care of me all throughout middle school and high school. It had never mattered to her that I wasn’t blood. She had always said I was the daughter she never got the chance to have. She must have been in her late sixties now.

“Here.” Auron brought over a plate with a simple egg sandwich on it. “Don’t eat too quickly, let me get you a glass of water. I want you to drink all of that.”

He was on his way back to the table with a glass of water from the sink when I replied, “Who made you the boss of me?”

I watched as his features softened at the simple statement. It wasn’t the first time he had heard me say those words to him. Hell, as much as I said it the phrase could’ve been my catchphrase back in the day.

Auron gave me a small smile and it felt natural to return a small one to him.

**[DAY FOUR]**

With every day that passed, I felt like the world around me was more real. I still looked for Jax around every corner and I expected him to show up anytime I walked into a new room, but I didn’t expect to blink and show back up in the alternate reality anymore. When I went to bed at night now, I expected to wake up in that same bed in the morning and if that wasn’t an accomplishment, I didn’t know what was.

It was midday as I stood on the back porch with my arms hanging over the wooden railing. Auron had explained on the first day that we were at a cabin he had bought deep in the woods outside of Guadosalam. It wasn’t an area I had been to before, mostly because I never had much business in Guadosalam before, but the Thunder Plains were just south of us. I couldn’t see the storm clouds, we were still too far away, but I could feel it in my bones. Auron said he’d take me there as soon as I got a handle on my abilities again.

Which was why I was leaning on the wooden railing with my arms hanging toward the ground, which was about ten feet below me, letting the electricity fall from my finger tips to the dirt patch below. I had too much excess lighting shedding off me. It was a problem I struggled with back in the 5th grade when I had first discovered the power inside me. The best way to deal with it was to just burn off the excess until my body’s levels naturally rebalanced themselves.

The backdoor opened behind me and I jumped into a standing position with my eyes and arms facing the cabin. Auron stood in the doorway. He didn’t come any closer and I appreciated that. He didn’t try touching me or getting too close since the first day.

“How are you feeling?”

“Static-y.” I replied with a shrug. Having my back to him made my skin crawl so I settled with leaning against the railing with my arms crossed. I could go back to burning excess in a minute or two. “What’s up?”

Auron glanced back into the house quickly, “I think I may have to leave for the city in a few days to run some errands. I’m trying to find a way around it, but I just thought I’d let you know in case I can’t.”

“You can run your errands, Auron. I won’t lose my mind in the time you’re gone.”

He didn’t seem to appreciate my joke. He rubbed the back of his neck once, “Cloud will still be here if you need anything.”

Cloud Strife was the name of the guy in this house with us, the one I tried to stab in the neck a few days ago, but his name was all I really knew about him. Auron must have told him to steer clear of me. That or the guy was just pissed about the ‘ _pen in neck’_ attempt. I’d give him this, he was good at avoiding me. I hadn’t even seen him since the first day. I think it helped that I stayed on the first floor where my room and kitchen were while he stayed upstairs. I could hear him walking across the floor sometimes.

“That’s fine, Auron. Really, I promise.” I reassured him. He nodded and turned to leave me to myself again, but I spoke up before he could disappear, “Hey, when can we go to the Thunder Plains??”

Auron turned and smirked, “When you can do the ‘ _Pyrefly’_ trick.”

I groaned in annoyance as he walked back inside. When the door closed, I turned back around and began to let the electricity drip to the ground again while grumbling under my breath.

**[DAY SEVEN]**

There were good days and bad days. Granted, everyday that I wasn’t in that awful alternate dimension was an amazing day, but of those amazing days some went better than others. Today had been one of those worse days.

Auron had left in the morning to run his errands, and him not being around made me realize that I suppressed a lot of negative thoughts around him. I mean, I didn’t want to make Auron worry and knowing he wasn’t watching at the moment gave me the chance to, well, to fall apart.

It was late in the afternoon, late enough that the sun was just beginning to set, which in my opinion was the worst time of day. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to hide inside quite yet. Something about the warm colors in the sky had me planted in place. That added with the fact that rather than wearing the white pajamas Auron provided me, I had found my old clothes and armor and slipped those on instead.

I think I was waiting.

I was waiting for Jax to show his face.

I was waiting to _fight_.

Minutes passed with nothing happening. I traced the lightweight armor on my arms with my fingers. The pads of my fingers rubbed against the scuffed up marks from my last battle during the war. No marks from the other world had ever remained. Of that, I was grateful.

Suddenly, I could feel a gaze on me. It made my spine stiffen and my hands spark, but I forced down those feelings.

“You can come out, you know. I don’t mind.” I spoke up. A second passed before I heard footsteps. I must have left the backdoor open, because I had never heard him use the doorknob. Cloud came closer than Auron did, and I wondered if he knew that. The blond came to a stop at the railing to my right, he was about three feet away. I offered him a tight-lipped smile, “Hi.”

Cloud Strife’s face was stoic. He showed no immediate emotion other than the furrowing of his brow, and it was then that I really looked at his face. The first time hadn’t really counted since I never took in any of his details. His features were on the softer side with a narrower jawline. He was shorter than Auron was, even with his spiky blond hair, and had a medium build. He wore a slim, black leather jacket over a dark t-shirt.

“You ok?”

“Peachy.” I gripped the wooden railing in front of me and forced myself not to take a step away from him. I’ve already beat him up, the last thing I needed to do was also insult him. “Um, sorry for hurting you earlier. I didn’t mean to attack you- well, I guess I did, but I mean-”

He shook his head, “It’s ok. It was a misunderstanding.”

I gave him another smile and prayed it didn’t look too much like a grimace. He kept his skeptical gaze on me, as if he expected me to spontaneously combust. Cloud’s eyes were nice. They were a pale blue, but they held a glow to them that almost didn’t seem natural. They darted down to my hands, “You’re burning the wood.”

I yanked my hands back seeing that I had indeed caused the light brown wood to turn black. The typical ferning pattern from lighting stretched down the wooden railing and I briefly wondered how far down it would’ve gone if I left my hands there, “Uh, thanks. I’m still having trouble keeping the lighting inside of me. It’s…It’s been a while since I had to.”

“I’m…sure. It’s ok.”

Another beat of silence while the awkwardness of this entire situation ate at me. I almost laughed at it all. Feeling awkward felt better than what I had been feeling only a few moments ago.

“So”, I chuckled and Cloud seemed to tense beside me at the sound of it, “Where are you from, Cloud Strife?”

He paused before answering, “Nibelheim.”

“Ah, you’re a country boy.” I joked lightly and I thought he cracked a small smile, but it could’ve been a trick of the light. “I was born in Gongaga, so I’m kind of a country girl.”

Cloud leaned against the railing with his forearms, “I actually know someone from Gongaga. He’s a good friend.”

“Small worlds.” I shrugged, “I don’t remember a lot of it though. I grew up mostly in Radiant Gardens.”

He narrowed his eyes briefly before nodding, “Oh, Radiant Gardens. I forgot it used to be called that.”

“What is it now?”

“Hollow Bastion.” He replied, “I’ve only ever heard the name Radiant Gardens in history class a few years back.”

I hummed to myself and leaned forward on the railing when I felt a wave of power build up, “I’ll have to ask Auron about that.”

There was a moment of silence as he just stood by my side watching as I sent wave after wave of electricity to the ground. The waves were getting more evenly paced out now. That was good. I still had a ways to go though.

“[Name].” I turned my head to look at him, it was the first time I heard him use my name. “Can I ask you something?”

The words brought a lump to my throat that I forced down. His question could be a number of things, many of which I didn’t really want to talk about, but I forced myself to nod. I owed him at least one answer. That would make us even for the pen incident.

“Why are you wearing your old clothes?”

I blinked in surprise. Of everything I thought he’d ask, for some reason that was one question I didn’t really expect. I sent one more wave of electricity to the ground before straightening my posture.

My clothes consisted of a pair of tights with armored boots that came up to my knees. They were black with light blue accents. The belt I had on matched the boots and they were connected with the torso piece that sat on top of a tight, long sleeve gray shirt. My arms had armor over the forearms and the tops of my hands. There was also an armored piece around my neck that also doubled as a communication device, though that hadn’t worked in forever. My sword was strapped to my back.

“I’ve worn these clothes for the past 17 years.” I admitted, “I can actually still remember choosing this outfit the morning I knew I was going to be walking through the portal.” I paused to run my hands over my forearms again, Cloud didn’t interrupt. He just quietly listened. “You’d think after that, I’d never want to see these clothes again. To be honest, a part of me actually wants to _burn_ this outfit. Watch it go up in flames, as if getting rid of it will get rid of- of the memories tied to it.” I thought this would be harder to talk about, but my voice stayed strong. In fact, hearing these words float through the air instead of just rattle around in my head felt nice. “Despite all that though, despite wanting to be rid of this, there’s some weird part of me that just _needed_ it. I _needed_ this outfit. Not having it on the past few days, almost felt… _wrong_. I felt…naked.”

Cloud nodded, “It’s understandable. It’s like a security blanket of sorts. You’ve had those items with you for…for a long time. Being without them all of a sudden… It would make anyone feel uncomfortable.”

“Yeah. Exactly.” I grinned and shook my head with a soft chuckle.

That felt good to get off my chest. It felt good to say, and I think it helped that Cloud was a virtual stranger to me. This was never something I’d be able to talk about with Auron.

“I wanted to die, Cloud.”

The sudden statement made his eyes widened as he straightened his posture. He cleared his throat, “[Name], I don’t think-”

“I’m so sorry, but I need to say this and- and I think you need to hear it.”

The two of us just stared at each other as he mulled over my last statement. I gave him the chance to leave. To walk off this porch back inside. I wouldn’t hold it against him. I’d understand. However, after another moment, Cloud gave me a small, tight smile and nodded, “Ok.”

My mouth suddenly became dry, and I forced myself to try and swallow before speaking, “None of us knew what was going to happen when I went through the portal. We had guesses and there were myths about it, but there was no certainty. Auron had promised to find me, to get me back, but…my hope had always been that once I stepped through that portal I would just _die_. It was easier that way. I could be with my parents at least.” My words came out strong and steady, but the electricity building up on my skin told me I was on edge. I could feel it jump from place to place, never staying still. “I _didn’t_ die though. I ended up in some weird alternate dimension on a world that was tiny. So tiny that I could walk the circumference of it in only a few minutes, and it was blank- _completely_ blank!” I laughed with a shake of my head, there was a spark at the base of my neck that crackled before dissipating, “There was _nothing_ there! Nothing but me and…and _him_. The monster we had to trap.” I wondered how much Cloud knew about this situation. How much had Auron told him about me and Jax? “And once I was there…I _still_ wanted to die. I never voiced it, never really admitted it to myself, but death would’ve been _so_ much easier. It would’ve been a _blessing_.” There was a glow to my hands as power jumped from finger to finger and back again. I had to hand it to Cloud though, his eyes never left my face. “Cloud, I fought _every_ single moment I was there. There was no sleeping in that world, no need to eat or to drink or to rest… it was just fight after fight after fight. He never gave me a break… we would just _tear_ into each other endlessly, and anytime one of us reached a point where we couldn’t push on any longer… the world would just reset. I’d be healthy again, not an injury in sight or a scar as proof. Just the pain as a lingering memory.” I took a step closer to him, but he didn’t flinch, “I know what it feels like to have _every_ rib in my chest crushed. I know what it feels like to be _stabbed_ , to be _gutted_ , to have metal _grind_ against my spine. I know what it feels like to slowly _drown_ in my own blood, to _choke_ on my own teeth. I’ve had every inch of me destroyed only to be revived and destroyed again.”

I hadn’t realized how loud and frantic I had become until electricity started to crack and spark in the air around me. Before I could even try and absorb it all back in, a streak of lighting jumped from my skin and hit Cloud in the shoulder. He flinched and let out a small grunt of pain as he stumbled back a step.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” I cried. My hand shot out to comfort him, but I stopped midway and forced myself back. The last thing he needed was more electricity, and right now my hands were glowing from the power they emitted. “Cloud, I’m _so sorry_.”

“It’s fine.” Cloud shook his head and swatted at his shoulder. The zap had burned a small hole in the leather. He looked up from it to see I was still taking steps away from him. A look of determination flashed across his features before he crossed the space between us.

“ _Cloud_ -”

“I’m not scared of you hurting me. I’m fine, it was just an accident.” Cloud reassured me. He offered me a small smile, “Are you alright?”

I scoffed, “I shot you with lighting and you’re asking if _I’m_ ok?”

“I’m not asking about that.”

I bit down on my lower lip in concentration and tightly crossed my arms across my chest. It took so much effort to absorb my own power. It was a new level of frustration, one that I had thought I had been long done with.

Cloud sighed, “[Name], I think you should tell all of this to Auron. He’s worried about you.”

“I can’t.” I shook my head and he tried to argue but I interrupted him, “I _can’t_ tell him this, Cloud. I _can’t_.” My voice broke on the last word and Cloud’s face softened. “He promised me he’d get me out. He spent 17 years looking for me and I am _so_ thankful. Cloud I am so-” I felt a sob build up in my chest and I tried to shove it away. I didn’t want to cry in front of Cloud. “He _did_ it. He kept his promise, he _saved_ me. I owe him _everything_ for that. If I tell him what I had to go through… He’s just going to blame himself. I know him. I-”

Cloud nodded, “I get that, I do, but Auron is desperate to know. I think not knowing is hurting him worse right now.”

I wrung my hands together a few times before throwing them over the railing in hopes to get more electricity out. Cloud rested his elbows on the railing.

“Maybe”, I began slowly. My chin was resting on the railing between my arms and I turned slightly to look at him, “Maybe you can tell him for me. Not the details, just what you think will help him move past it. I can’t do it, Cloud. I can’t face him and talk to him about this.”

Cloud sighed once before shrugging, “I guess I can.”

The silence grew between us again, but this time it was a comfortable one. I focused on spewing electricity from my hands as Cloud stood beside me. He hummed once, “You owe me a new jacket though.”

A laugh bubbled from my lips at his words as he smiled in return. I didn’t think I could feel this light while wearing what I had on.

**[DAY TWELVE]**

Next to my bedroom was a small bathroom. It wasn’t anything special. A small tub, a toilet, and a sink all crammed into the tiny, square room. The walls were an ugly pink tile, but plastered onto the pink tile above the sink was a mirror. It was the old school kind, the type that could be opened up to store medications, and it had a crack in the lower right corner.

I’m not sure how long I had been staring at my reflection, but a good amount of time had definitely passed. I was trying to find something different about myself, something that had come from the past 17 years. My skin was the same as it had been. There was a slight scar under my right eye, but that was from my childhood. Jax had once dug the tip of his blade from my hairline down to the corner of my chin, but there was no evidence of that. My nose still held the same shape it always had despite being broken repeatedly. All my teeth were still in my mouth, not a single one out of place.

My hair, I ran my fingers through the [hair color] strands that went well past my shoulders. I had never gotten the chance to trim it years ago before my last mission. My brain played memories of Jax twisting his rough hand through my hair, tangling his hand down to my roots, and yanking on it.

My hands moved before my mind fully processed what they were doing. Inside the medicine cabinet had been a pair of old, rusty scissors. I vaguely remembered seeing them when I first explored this bathroom. I grabbed them and shut the cabinet so I could see myself clearly again, and then I started cutting.

With every snip of the scissors I thought back to times Jax used my hair against me. Grabbing it to pull me back to him, using it to hold me down, ripping it from my scalp tauntingly. I also thought back to the times I’d be lying on the floor in pain from a fight and he’d almost lovingly run his fingers through. Talking shit about how much he loved my hair, how pretty it was, how well it suited me.

I wasn’t entirely sure which was worse.

The sink was filled with strands of [hair color] hair and there was a halo of matching strands on the floor as well. I tossed the scissors into the sink and stared at what I had just created. My hair now fell just past my chin, it didn’t even touch my shoulders anymore. The cuts were choppy and a bit messy, but it was different.

I looked _different_.

Heavy footsteps filled the hall, and I knew it was Auron. I recognized his pace. He had made his footsteps heavier over the past few days, and I was sure it was his way of making sure I always knew he was coming.

Auron now stood outside the doorway and if he was surprised by my new hair, he didn’t show it on his features, “I see you’ve been busy.”

“Yeah”, I shook my head so I could feel how much lighter my head felt. The short strands brushed against my skin. “I think I just… needed something new.”

“It looks good.” Auron hummed.

“You don’t have to lie.” I chuckled.

He lifted his hand, as if to feel my hair, but stopped midway and brought his hand back to his side smoothly. A pang of relief and guilt mingled in my gut. I was thankful that he kept his space, but I didn’t mean to make him feel isolated.

Auron cleared his throat, “I…spoke to Cloud earlier.”

The light above us flickered and I balled my hands into fists. It had been a few days without a new wave of electricity washing over me, I’d like to keep it this way. Auron took a few steps back, but I didn’t take offense to that. Cloud and Auron had both told me that they could tell when I was starting to lose control. The air would get charged around them, and they could feel all their hair stand up on end.

“Oh.” I replied dumbly. “I’m sure that was a- a _fun_ conversation.”

“[Name], I am so-”

I shook my head, “Don’t say you’re sorry. You shouldn’t be.”

Auron heaved a sigh, “I-”

“You saved me, Auron.” He looked torn between arguing with me and dropping the subject entirely. I bit back the voice at the back of my head and reached forward to grip his shoulder. It took most of my concentration to divert any electricity I was carrying to other parts of my body, but despite that I managed to give him a firm smile. “You _saved_ me.”

**[DAY EIGHTEEN]**

I sat sideways in the single seat sofa with my legs thrown over the armrest. My eyes bounced from hand to hand as I focused on maintaining the ball of electricity I was playing catch with.

“Are you even listening to me?” Cloud pressed from the other side of the room.

“To be honest, no.” I replied, not letting my eyes leave the ball, “This is taking a ridiculous amount of my concentration.”

“You’re the one who asked me about Midgar.”

“My…bad…” I replied slowly, it took energy to keep the electricity in ball form and to keep it moving from hand to hand without phasing into my skin. This was the longest I had kept this up though which was a step in the right direction.

The sound of new footsteps filled the room followed by Auron’s deep voice, “Strife, get your feet off my coffee table.”

“Ooh, busted.” I hummed and I was sure that if I looked over at Cloud he would be rolling his eyes at me.

“[Name], please be careful. You’re close to the wall outlet. I don’t want a repeat of last week.”

“We got the lights to come back after a few hours, Auron.” I chuckled and knew that answer wasn’t going to be enough so I followed it up with a promise to try my best and not blow the cabin’s fuse.

Auron spoke again, “Are you hungry yet?”

“No, I’m ok. Thanks though!”

“Alright, I’m going to clear some fiends from the area. They’ve been showing up more often these days. Strife, clear the front path, I’ll take the back.”

I had listened too closely to the sentence and the ball lost its shape. I let it phase into my hand and travel up my arm. Auron was walking out of the room while Cloud stood up from his seat. He had on the same leather jacket I met him in, and I once again made the mental note to buy him a new one eventually.

“Auron is soft around you.” Cloud chuckled. I raised an eyebrow and Cloud shook his head, “I’ve just never seen this side of him before. It’s interesting.”

I smiled, “He’s a teddy bear on the inside, always has been.”

“ _Strife_!”

“More like grizzly bear.” Cloud mumbled before walking out the room. I nestled deeper into my comfy seat and went back to trying to form another ball. Practice makes perfect, after all.

**[DAY TWENTY-NINE]**

The loud crack of lightning was a sharp and welcome sound. My hand was stretched outward, and as steady as I tried to maintain this position my fingers still managed to tremble. I scrunched up my features and focused all my energy into my palm. It took a few more minutes, but finally a streak of light flashed out and hit the large boulder I had been aiming at. The light gray stone was scorched black from my practice.

“You’re coming along.” Auron’s voice called out. “I didn’t expect your progress to be moving forward so quickly.”

I let my arm drop and used the other to swipe away the beads of sweat that had collected on my forehead, “Thanks, Auron, but I got a ways to go. Relearning to attack is the easy part of all this. It’s the defensive and softer stuff that’s gonna take a while.”

Auron stepped closer and leaned against the side railing of the balcony, “Well, we all know defense was never your cup of tea.”

“Oh really?” I smirked, “You’re going to say that to the girl who saved your ass how many times with a shield?”

Auron chuckled, “I don’t think those times count considering you were usually the reason I was being attacked.”

“It’s not my fault the bad guys gunned for you on our missions. You _used_ to be quite intimidating.”

He raised an eyebrow at me, “And I’m not anymore?”

“No. Now you’re just the old geezer that gets onto me for not eating the crust on my sandwiches.”

“It’s irrational that you refuse to eat them. The crust of the bread is also _bread_.”

I chuckled and leaned against the railing behind me. Auron stood about four feet away with his arms crossed and set on the railing. His gaze was focused on the boulder I had been hitting with lightning strikes, but I could tell his thoughts were on other things. It was funny how easy it was to read him still. Early on I had worried that I would’ve lost that skill over the years, but it had remained. He was older now, and had the signs of age, but he wore the same expressions that I had learned to read ages ago.

“What’s on your mind, Braska?” I pressed.

“Various things.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

Auron shook his head, “Not particularly. How about you?”

I tilted my head and gave him a questioning look, “No?”

He hummed and rubbed his jawline, “There is a specific question I expected from you that I haven’t gotten yet. It worries me.”

My eyes widened in realization. I had asked Auron a few questions here and there, same to Cloud, but all of them had been about rather trivial things. I avoided major topics mostly because I just wasn’t ready to hear them. One of the main things I wasn’t entirely ready to hear about were the fate of the ones I loved.

I knew about Auron, obviously.

Wasn’t quite ready to know about all the others.

“I’ll ask it when I’m ready to know, Auron.” I replied rather bluntly. His face grew worried and I mentally cursed myself. There was something I could do, to show him he shouldn’t worry, and it was something I had been trying to build up the courage to do for days now.

I wasn’t sure if he or Cloud had noticed but being close to the two of them hadn’t bothered me as much as it used to. It had been a gradual difference that I slowly saw, but my skin no longer crawled at the thought of their touch. Maybe it was a trust thing, I finally trusted that their touch wouldn’t lead to pain.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I crossed the few feet between us and laced my arm through his. Auron’s eyebrows rose in shock, but he remained quiet. Rather than try to explain my reasoning I just laid my head on his shoulder and stared out at the forest around us.

He leaned his head on top of mine after a brief moment, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. It felt good to feel the touch of someone who cared. To feel their physical comfort. I had nearly forgotten how nice it could be.

I tightened my grip around his arm and closed my eyes.

This was good.

**[DAY FORTY-THREE]**

The shirt on my body was a few sizes too large. It was a short sleeve jersey, and the hem of it went well past my butt. It made the white pajama shorts I wore look non-existent. The jersey was dark green with accents of white and light blue. It had the number ‘12’ written on the front in bold lettering.

The bedroom door opened, and Cloud stood there holding the door knob in one hand. He scoffed, “Are you stealing my shirts _again_?”

“I own nothing, Cloud. Be more sympathetic.”

“You’re a mooch.”

“I resent that.” I replied as he crossed the room and sat down on his bed. He sat back until he was leaning against the wall, “What sport is this from?”

He pointed toward his desk, “I played football in High School. Hand me that book.”

I walked over to grab the book he asked for. It was a medium sized textbook with _‘White Magic 101’_ written on the front, “Aw, did you play benchwarmer?”

“Starting quarterback, actually.”

I climbed onto his bed and sat next him, handing him the book in the process, “You know, I still find it very sketch that Auron brought along a novice white mage to take care of me.”

“Keep talking, and I won’t heal you the next time you burn yourself trying to microwave popcorn.” Cloud replied and opened the book to where he left off. There was a pencil in the book that he had tucked away from last time. “And I told you, I’m _not_ a mage.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Cloud had explained many times that he was not a mage. The college he went to just required him to take a break from his training and take a semester of some form of elective. He chose white magic as his elective, and Auron chose him to bring on this trip. He had always voiced his confusion over why Auron asked him to come along. Cloud always said he assumed all the mages had been preoccupied, but I knew better. Auron wasn’t the kind to trust just anyone with a mission like this. He obviously picked Cloud because he trusted the male. I could see that in the way they interacted.

More than that though, something told me Auron also chose him because he knew I’d get along well with him. Being around Cloud didn’t take a lot of energy. The blond was ok with silences and had a dry wit that kept me entertained when I was in the mood. He had a noble energy about him, one I had grown quite used to over the weeks here.

I leaned against his shoulder as he read and wrote in the margins of his book.

“Look, this chapter is on treating electricity induced wounds.” Cloud said.

I watched as he used his pencil to cross out the word ‘ _electricity’_ and write in ‘[ _Name_ ]’ so it read, _‘Treating [Name] Induced Injuries’_. Without moving my head, I poked him in the cheek with my finger giving him a slight shock, nothing stronger than what static felt like. He chuckled in response and went back to studying.

  
  


**[DAY FIFTY-TWO]**

“Do you have to go?” I asked softly. I sat in the middle of my bed with my arms wrapped around my knees.

Cloud sighed and sat on the edge of my bed, “I’m sorry, but I do. My brothers are done with their camps so they’ll be going home. I need to head back to make sure they don’t burn the place to the ground.”

“Roxas and Ventus, right?” I recalled their names. Cloud talked about them all the time. It was easy to see how much he cared for his younger siblings.

He smiled, “Yeah, those two idiots. I wish I could finish the stay with you.”

“I’m really glad Auron brought you along, Cloud. Having you here…it was nice.” I rested my chin on my knees. The thought of this kind of change didn’t sit well with me and Cloud leaving was a loss I didn’t really want to deal with. I had gotten to know him very well and not being able to hang out with him was going to be a giant bummer.

“I’m glad I came. I’m glad I got to know you, [Name].” Cloud stood up, “You have my number though, and I’ve taught you how to use the damn thing so I expect you to keep in touch.”

I picked up the yellow glass phone sitting on the bed next to me, “Auron said you’re the _worst_ to try and get in touch with on the phone.”

“I can’t deny that.” Cloud shrugged, “So don’t pick up my bad habits, and I promise to always reply to you.”

I stood up and pointed to the jersey I wore, “I’m keeping this.”

“We’ll add it to the list of clothing articles you owe me.” A smile lit my features as I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him. Cloud returned the hug tightly, “This isn’t goodbye. We’ll see each other again.”

I tightened my grip around him and wondered if that were true. Would I see him again? Better question, should I? Maybe it would be better for the two of us if this was a real goodbye. The final kind. He’d be safer if it was.

**[DAY SIXTY]**

“ _Pyrefly, pyrefly, pyrefly…”_

I mumbled the words under my breath repeatedly as if would it actually help. My mom used to tell me a story when I was younger about pyreflies. How pyreflies saved her hometown long ago from falling into the darkness by lighting up the entire area. It was a story I clung to as a kid with destructive electric abilities. She would never call my abilities electricity or claim I was a lightning elemental. She said I was _light_. She said I was a spark of light in the dark, dark world.

With a deep, calming breath I opened my eyes slowly.

There my reflection stood with a light blue glow. My skin shimmered as I pushed the light further, a little stronger now. My eyes followed suit and began to turn to a sharp, burning blue. The pyrefly trick wasn’t dangerous. It wasn’t a strike of lightning or a shield of light. It wasn’t going to strike down armies or save a person’s life.

The pyrefly trick was just the sign of ultimate control. It took every fiber of my being to maintain a glow and not let my power slip through and strike.

To me, it was a sign that I could move on.

It was a sign that I was ready.

**[DAY SIXTY-FIVE]**

The Thunder Plains were barren and dark. Always covered in a thick layer of rumbling storms. Right now, it wasn’t raining in the area I was in, but I could see the downpour not far out. Hopefully it stayed out in the distance until I was done with my little field trip. It took me nearly the entire trip from the cabin out to the nearest town to convince Auron to let me come alone. Even then he gave me a time limit of two hours. In two hours, a grumpy sword wielding warrior was going to march into the plains, lightning be damned, to drag me out.

Lightning struck one of the nearby towers and the air filled with a charge.

I pulled off my white pajama top, leaving me in a sports bra, and stuffed it into my bag. The last thing I needed at the moment was a strike setting my clothes aflame. That’d be a huge annoyance.

I grabbed the bag and started my trek. Technically, I never lived in Spira, but seeing as my mom was from here it meant visits occurred every summer as a kid. Once I grew into my abilities, it meant those trips extended into the infamous Thunder Plains. I knew this entire area like the back of my hand, and unsurprisingly my favorite parts weren’t exactly on the safe path created so many years ago.

The moment I was off the path, away from the towers, the lightning increased. The charge in the air was intoxicating and when the first strike of lightning hit my shoulder it felt like having life being breathed back into my lungs. Every cell in my body was buzzing with energy.

I felt _alive_.

For the first time in 17 years, I truly felt alive.

The strikes kept coming and I was giddy. Every once in a while I’d see a stray fiend in the distance, but no fiend ever bothered me in the Thunder Plains. I never knew why for sure. Maybe the fiend’s saw the abundance of electricity flowing around me and decided I wasn’t worth the effort. That was my best guess.

Finally, my journey took me to a steep incline in the more Eastern side of the Plains. Climbing didn’t take me long, and when I reached the top I saw the view was the same. From this spot I could see most of the Plains and being the highest point of said Plains meant double the lightning strikes.

After taking in the view, I knelt down and opened the duffel bag I had brought with me. I hesitated for only a second before pulling out my sword. Lightning stuck the tip and the blade burned blue. The energy traveled down sword, into the handle carved from an old thunder stone, and straight into my palms.

This weapon was made special for me. A gift from my parents. I treasured it more than anything else, but it was no longer needed. It was a relic from a past life that I no longer planned to live. Keeping it would only make my goals that much harder and I knew that.

With a grunt, I stabbed the sword into the ground and released it. I cupped the charm that hung from the bottom of the handle. It was a white, marble star centered in a dark obsidian circle. I glanced over the Plains one last time, ripped the charm off the sword, and rose to leave.

It was time to move forward.


	3. same, but not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."  
> -Charles Darwin

**++++**

“What the shit is this?”

My words had been a bit louder than I planned for them to be, and passing people gave me a judging side stare, but it couldn’t be helped. Auron told me he was going to be taking me to the shipyard so we could leave Spira and head elsewhere, but the beast of a ship we stood before was definitely not the Gummi ships I was accustomed to seeing in a shipyard.

Gone were the colorful blocks and small, compact design. These ships were renovated and enlarged. They were sleek and various shades of both light and dark color, but they now looked like true machines. I wasn’t sure if this was a change I liked. There was something amazing about the ships around me, they were gorgeous and absolute metal works of art, but they also looked _heavy as hell_. The old school Gummi ships I knew, with their round shapes and bright coloring, looked like something that belonged in the sky. Really, they looked like if you didn’t physically tie them down to the ground they’d just up and float away.

These were not like that.

“If you don’t stop gawking we are going to miss our flight.” Auron hummed in amusement. He wrapped his hand around the crook of my elbow and slowly tugged me away from a light gray ship I couldn’t tear my eyes off of.

“These are _not_ Gummi ships. What happened??”

“The future.” Auron shrugged. He wore a maroon coat with baggy sleeves over his clothes, and his sword on his back. It was a far cry from the casual clothes he wore at the cabin with me. “Time passed and the ships grew modernized. There was a time of aerial industrialization. All the worlds competed to make the best aircraft and these were the outcome of that competition.”

I jogged a few steps forward so Auron didn’t have to drag me along anymore, but he kept a loose grip on my arm, “What world won?”

“Midgar.”

The world was one I had never visited before, and I had rarely heard of it before I dove head first into a death portal. However, Cloud had told me a few things about it. Mostly because that’s where his mom still lived apparently. I glanced down at the familiar jersey I wore over a pair of shorts and I briefly considered pulling out my phone and texting him. It had been a while since we had a real conversation, and that was entirely my fault. I never started the conversations anymore and anytime he texted me I kept things brief.

“[Name].” Auron called and I realized he was trying to pull me down a path to the right, but I was resisting. With a forced smile, I ignored the urge to contact Cloud and continued following my old friend. It was better this way. Cloud needed to focus on his training and being in school and all that normal life stuff. My presence could only create hiccups in that.

Up ahead, way past this curve of the path, was a large black ship with white and tan accents. A rather large group of visitors was loading onto the ship from the dock below and my eyes narrowed in confusion. My plan had been to find an abandoned world somewhere in the middle of nowhere and live out a life of doing nothing but sleeping, eating, and minding my own business. This didn’t look like the kind of ship going to the middle of nowhere.

“Where is this ship going?” I pressed and dug my heels into the dirt beneath me.

“It’s a surprise.” Auron replied without missing a beat, he tugged on me harder and it was almost too easy for him to continue to force me down the path even with my resistance.

“ _Auron_ ”, I warned him and lightly charged the skin where his hand was. He didn’t relent. “Auron, I don’t like surprises.”

He shook his head, “You’ll like this one. Please trust me.”

With the pleading tone and the soft look, there was no way I could refuse him. I groaned in annoyance and marched alongside him, making sure to kick my feet and slow us down as much as possible. I might let him take me on this detour, but that didn’t mean I needed to be excited about it.

Loading ourselves onto the ship was a good distraction though. I couldn’t help but pick up my feet as soon as we got close. The inside was as impressive as the outside. This ship must have been built for taking large groups of travelers because the main deck was a large clearing with comfortable chairs and tables scattered around. The far back of the deck was a large glass panel that could be seen through, and I made sure Auron and I took our seats close enough for me to star gaze during the trip.

While I saw Gummi ships being used often in the past, these new, fancy ships somewhat reminded me of the one I was most familiar with, the Highwind. It hadn’t been a Gummi ship, being made of metal, but it also wasn’t to the standard of these new metallic beasts.

It was somewhere in between.

The Highwind was a small, dumpy looking ship flown by a close friend. It had been shades of blue and broken. Honestly, it was a miracle that ship hadn’t fallen out of the sky and killed us all years ago, but I had bonded with the pathetic little thing. It had been home for the longest time after all. Anytime I wasn’t on a mission but didn’t have the time to go back to Radiant Garden it was on the Highwind that I slept and lived.

Seeing all of these ships, thinking about the Highwind, it made me think back on the boy it was named after. The boy who had introduced me to all things ships. I wondered if Auron knew that’s what this trip would do. I glanced over at him. He had his duffel bag of belongings tucked under his seat with his sword resting in his lap.

“Auron… I want to know about…” I paused and tried to re-word the question. I was finally ready to know the answer, but now I didn’t even know how to ask.

A soft smile grew on his lips, “I know. That’s where we’re going.”

It took a minute for the words to settle in my mind, but once they did my eyes widened, “We’re going to see _him_? He’s…He’s _ok_?”

“He’s more than ok, he’s a right pain in the ass.” Auron replied with a chuckle.

Suddenly, I liked surprises a lot more.

**++++**

At the Destiny Island’s Institute of Protection, every third year Protective Services Student had to pick an elective. It was the school’s way of making more ‘ _rounded’_ agents, or so they claimed. The electives were extremely broad, ranging from star reading to home economics.

Cloud Strife knew from the beginning that he wanted his elective to be in _‘White Magic and Medical Care’_. The interest stemmed from growing up watching his mother work in the local hospital as a nurse, but there was also no other elective that really sparked his interest. Plus, it seemed like a helpful skill to have when out in the field.

‘ _Magic and Meds’,_ as the class was collectively called by students, was a tough elective to get into though. They only accepted around 20 third year students each year. His application for the elective had to be expansive and he’d have to blow the entrance exam out of the water. In fact, ‘ _Magic and Meds’_ was the only elective where some skill set was needed before hand in order to get in.

Cloud had learned a few tricks from his mom over the years, and he had been dedicated to the study book he bought in order to pass the exam, but he was lacking in hands on experience. Which is why when Auron came to him asking him to be the white mage on a summer mission, he jumped at the chance. Auron was not only one of the most experienced warriors on the islands, but he was also the Head of the Training Arts committee at both the Academy and Institute. Having someone of Auron’s magnitude put in a good word for him would be just the kind of edge he needed to get an upper hand over his competitors.

The 21-year-old never thought he’d gain anything from his summer internship other than experience, but then he met [Name] [Surname].

Auron hadn’t given him much explanation on what his job would entail until after Merlin, an elderly spastic fellow, summoned a portal and pulled a [hair color] girl out of it. Even then Auron only told Cloud that it was his job to make sure she was, and stayed, in good health. The older man mentioned he thought she’d be in worse shape when coming out of the portal, but since she wasn’t Cloud’s only job was to just keep an eye on her. It wasn’t until [Name] tried to stab him in the neck with a pen that he heard the whole story, and _damn_ was it an insane story.

Cloud spent his summer in a cabin on Spira, learned a secret that only few knew, and gained a new, rather interesting friend.

An interesting friend who was currently pushing him away, it seemed.

The blond was leaning against his kitchen counter with his cellphone in hand. He started to type a message only to erase it just as quickly with a shake of his head. Cloud paused to think back on any past conversations. His texts seemed fine, though the past few days were very one-sided conversations, and Cloud didn’t recall sending anything that could have insulted her in any way. He typed a few words, erased them yet again, and then went for the simplest approach he could think of.

_‘Hey, have you left Spira yet?’_

Cloud hit send before he could second guess his words, and then he set the phone down on the counter. The phone only stayed there for a few seconds though because surprisingly enough he got a reply immediately.

_‘Yeah’_

Frustrated would be a good way to describe his current demeanor.

“Bro, you’re getting _ghosted_.”

Cloud jumped slightly at his brother’s voice and quickly darkened the screen before shoving his phone into his pocket. Ven stood behind him still in his ratty sleep clothes.

“Did you just wake up? It’s past noon.” Cloud shook his head and moved to the fridge.

Ven chuckled, “Do _not_ change the subject, I saw that text. What is up with that?”

“It’s nothing.”

The younger Strife continued, “I watched you work on that text for a good _five_ minutes and then I watched you get a _one-word_ reply. It wasn’t nothing.”

“How long were you standing behind me?” Cloud questioned as he pulled a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge.

“A while actually. You were _way_ zoned into your phone.” Ven snatched the juice bottle off the counter as Cloud went to grab a cup, “Roxas could’ve bounced and rolled down the stairs and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

Ven started to drink straight from the bottle and ducked away, bottle still to lips, as Cloud reached out to hit him.

“Why am I bouncing and rolling down the stairs?” Roxas asked as he entered the kitchen. He ignored his brothers wrestling over a bottle of juice and went straight for the pantry.

“Cloud’s getting ghosted by some girl.” Ven sung as he finished the last of the juice, left the empty bottle in his older brother’s hand, and sat at the kitchen island’s barstool. He was smug until Cloud whipped the empty bottle at his head.

“What do you know?”

“I know none of your current phone contacts have a cute little lightning emoji after their names.” Ven snapped back as he rubbed the tender spot on the back of his skull where the bottle nailed him. Cloud grew sheepish at the accusation. Ven wasn’t wrong. [Name], whose last communication device had basically been an electronic brick, was so impressed with how far phones had come. Cloud had spent a good hour sitting at a table with her showing everything it could do. Her favorite things had been the camera and the, as she called it, ‘ _cute little cartoon pictures’_. So when it came time for Cloud to put her number in his contacts he couldn’t bring himself to say no when she asked for the small lightning bolt by her name. It was fitting after all. “So who’s the girl?”

Roxas sat down next to his twin with the last pop tart from the pantry, “The only girls Cloud talks to are Tifa, Yuffie, and Aerith.”

Cloud shot his brother a glare, but Roxas didn’t even notice it considering he was too busy trying to keep Ven’s hand away from his food. He shook his head with a sigh and walked to the pantry himself. It was pretty bare. He had meant to go shopping but had lost track of time. He wouldn’t be able to now considering he had to leave in a few hours for the off world site where they were hosting the exam.

“Roxas you’re gonna have to pick up food later today or tomorrow after school. Mom wired us more munny for it.” He announced and closed the pantry door.

Ven was pouting in his seat, having lost the battle for the last pop tart, “I’m texting mom and telling her you’re starving us.”

“”I’ll text mom and tell her you skipped five Thursdays in a row last semester to go surfing.” Cloud rebutted as he started to leave the kitchen. He heard Ven call after him, bothering him about the text again, but Cloud barely had an answer for himself on that subject. Maybe [Name] was just having a rough week. He’d try to reconnect again after his ‘ _Magic and Meds’_ exam tomorrow was over.

**++++**

Stars had turned into white sand, clear water, and the green of palm trees as the ship began its descent into the travel center. Destiny Island’s travel center was located right on the beach so it could welcome travelers from the sky and the sea.

“You know, when you said we were traveling to Destiny Islands, I was still picturing abandoned beaches and huts.” I commented from my seat, my hands were tightly wrapped around the seat belt across my chest that kept me to the seat, but it was hardly needed. The ship docked so smoothly that I didn’t even realize it had stopped until the captain came over the speaker.

Auron unhooked himself from his seat and grabbed our bags, “Destiny Islands has grown significantly over the years. You’d be surprised.”

“I’m already surprised.” I took my duffel bag from him and followed the crowd down the ramp, “Last time we came, we parked in the middle of the jungle and we were greeted with a local throwing a spear at my head.”

Auron hummed, “You ducked.”

The travel center was packed with people from all over. Being in the middle of such a large crowd put me on edge and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck raise. My jaw clenched as I glanced around, but the weight of Auron’s hand on my shoulder loosened my tense muscles.

“Summer break is over, many families are returning for their jobs and the new semester.” He explained and quickly steered me from the dense group of people. As we cleared off the dock into the welcome center, the crowd lessened slightly putting me at ease. Apparently, Destiny Islands was so populated and modernized now that we needed to take a trolley from the Welcome Center to the main part of the city where Auron owned an apartment.

The trolley was large enough to fit about 50 or so people, and Auron led us to the open top half of the vehicle so I wouldn’t feel so trapped. As it coasted along the cliffside rail, we had the jungle to our left and the ocean to our right. A smile graced my features as I stared out toward the horizon. The ocean was various shades of blue with the high afternoon sun bouncing light off the waves. God, it was gorgeous. I forgot what this looked like. I forgot worlds could be so beautiful.

Twenty minutes later, the trolley pulled into a busy plaza filled with people going about their day. The city was buzzing with life and energy. All the buildings were white with colorful rooftops, windows, and doors. It looked like how one would assume a coastal town looked. The plaza’s ground was made up of tan stones circling around a large fountain that continually sprayed water in different patterns.

“My apartment is a few blocks off main street, I can give you a tour-”

I shook my head and turned to look at him, “I want to see him first, Auron. Please.”

My old friend nodded, “His garage isn’t too far from here.”

The city only got cuter as Auron led me down one of the streets. The pretty buildings continued in the form of shops, restaurants, and local stores. It didn’t seem like any cars, trollies, or motorized transportation were used on these roads. Everyone around us was walking with a few people riding bikes or being driven on bike like vehicles.

Toward the end of the street the buildings got further apart with palm trees and vegetation in areas between. Auron led me down a road to the left which had a large two-story building across the street from a rather large park. The building was older than the ones we had already passed and the side of it had a large garage door that was half open.

I paused at the end of the driveway; my hand tightened in a fist around my duffel bag strap. This was it. The sign in the yard read, ‘ _Highwind’s Repair’_. In that building was one of my closest friends. Shouldn’t I be excited? I thought I’d be bouncing in place, but rather I felt nerves gnawing on my insides.

“You ready?” Auron stepped toward the building.

I nodded once, worried that any words would fall out in a stuttering mess, and followed him through the garage door. The floor plan was open allowing for a large ship to be parked in the middle. It resembled the newer ships, it being large and made of cool shades of metal, but this one did seem on the smaller side compared to the one we rode on to get here. It still was no Gummi ship and I walked forward so I could rest my hand on the side of its hull.

A few feet above me the ship’s name was painted along the side in a bright red.

“Shera.” I breathed. The familiarity of the name made me pause. “Auron, what…?”

“It’s his new ship.” Auron answered. He shook his head, “I’m sorry to say that the Highwind never made it back from our last mission.”

“So it died with me?”

Auron narrowed his eyes at me, “You did _not_ die. You are _here_. _Safe_.”

I gave him a soft smile and bumped his shoulder with mine, “You know what I mean.” I looked back up at the ship, “Shera, though? Why does that name sound familiar?”

Rather than offer me an answer, he stepped away, “Stay here, I’ll find him first.”

He walked off to the side toward an old metal staircase that led up to a metal walkway where a room sat nestled in the corner. It had a pair of windows on the side by the door, but the blinds were drawn. It must have been some sort of office.

I took off my duffel bag and set it on a table by the wall before walking back toward this new ship. As pretty as it was, it wasn’t the Highwind and I found myself disappointed. Everything was so different. Cities had been built, phones and aircraft modernized, my friends had aged. All the things I once knew about the worlds seemed outdated. The idea of seeing the Highwind though, had put me at ease. It was a ship that had seen the war right alongside me. To now know that it was gone, that it had never survived that final, tragic mission, felt like a punch in the gut. It died with the old world, with the old war. Maybe I was supposed to as well.

“Can I help you?”

I whipped around at the new voice, my hand going up to where the hilt of my sword would be only to find air. The new guy stood by the garage door where we had come in with a curious, but harmless look. I let my hand rest on the back of my neck and tried to play off the fact that I had been looking for a weapon.

“Oh, hi.” I offered him a sheepish grin. He was taller than me, maybe Auron’s height, with brown hair and gray eyes. Between his eyes was a diagonal scar that marred his otherwise clean, lightly tanned face. His lips were drawn in indifference, but he didn’t seem to be a threat. Jeans, a plain white t-shirt, a lion shaped necklace, and belts that had no weapon hanging from them. “I’m just here to see a friend.”

“Do you mean Cid?”

I nodded, “Yeah. Another friend of mine went up to find him. Do you work here?”

The guy nodded and stepped closer, “On occasion.” His eyes darted down to my shirt and his eyebrows raised in surprise, “That’s… That’s Cloud Strife’s jersey.”

I perked up at the name, “Oh! You know Cloud?” He nodded once and I continued, “I met him this summer. He loaned me his jersey since I was running low on shirts. He’s my…my friend.”

The word fell from my lips with distaste. Was he though? I didn’t deserve such a good guy in my life. I’d only bring him heartache down the line. Plus, I could hardly call myself his friend since I was ignoring any attempt at communication he gave out over phone. If I was his friend, I sure was a lousy one.

“What’s your name?”

My thoughts returned to the situation, “I’m [Name].”

“He never mentioned you.” The guy replied skeptically. Was this guy close to Cloud or something? Did they share everything with each other and that’s why he was surprised my name hadn’t come up? It’s not like I was lying to him.

“What’s your name?” I countered with a skeptical gaze to match his. He was starting to look at me like I had broken into Cloud’s home and stolen the damn jersey or something.

“Squall.”

I hummed to myself and crossed my arms, “Hmm, he never mentioned _you_.”

Squall looked taken aback at my reply and I kept my gaze on him as I walked away from the Shera to stand on his other side closer to my bag. He looked like he was going to say something further when the door Auron had gone into swung open wildly, crashing into the wall. We both jumped and snapped our gazes to it.

At the top of the metal railing stood Cid Highwind. Just like Auron, he was older now. His short blond hair was still held back from his face by a rugged pair of red work goggles that I knew used to belong to his father. His once clean face was now rough with scruff along his jawline and cheeks.

“ _Doll_?” Cid breathed; his light blue eyes focused solely on me. It had been so long since I heard someone call me that nickname with sincerity. The last time I had heard it was when Jax spat it at me mockingly. Tears collected in my eyes at the softness in the way Cid said it. Nobody called me ‘ _doll’_ like that, except him.

“Hi.” I chuckled out and lifted my hand in a wave. This broke our trance and Cid came flying down the stairs, three at a time. He didn’t stop until he had me enveloped in a tight embrace. I buried my face into his chest and took in the familiar scent of engine oil and cigarette smoke. A laugh bubbled from my chest, “Didn’t I tell you to stop smoking?”

“By the light, I can’t believe it’s you.” He pulled back from the hug to cup my face with his hands, “I’ve missed you so much, we’ve _all_ missed you so much.”

He rested his forehead against mine and I closed my eyes in relief. This felt right. This felt like 17 years ago when I’d come back from a rough mission and my favorite pilot would pull me into his arms to offer comfort.

“Leon, could you give us a moment?”

Cid and I broke apart and Cid glanced at the brunet as if just realizing he was there. He cleared his throat, “Yeah, you can head out Leonhart. I don’t need you until the end of the week.”

The guy, who I thought was named Squall, nodded once. He gave me one last questioning glance before leaving the garage. Cid stuck close to me, leaving one arm around my shoulders as I spoke, “He said his name was Squall.”

“It is. Squall Leonhart.” Cid answered, “Good kid. He’s a PSS at the Institute. People’s he’s close to call him Leon.”

“Institute? Like Cloud?”

Auron nodded, “They’re in the same grade I believe. Level 3.”

“You know Strife?” Cid’s gaze drifted to my shirt with a nod, “Huh, guess you do. How’d you wrestle his lucky jersey off him?”

I pinched the front and pulled it forward to look down at the numbers, “This is his _lucky_ jersey?”

Cid shook his head, “Doesn’t matter, I couldn’t care less about Strife right now. We need to catch up. You hungry, doll?”

“When am I not hungry, flyboy?”

Cid’s face broke out into a wide grin as he squeezed my shoulders.

**++++**

Leon had been surprised to see someone other than the greasy mechanic in the garage when he came in considering it was the day before classes. They didn’t get many customers around this time and most other mechanics and workers didn’t return to work until tomorrow. He had been even more surprised to see the potential customer wearing Cloud’s lucky jersey. Leon hadn’t seen the thing since high school, but he knew it had been tucked away in his friend’s closet for the past 3 years untouched and protected by Cloud who treasured it for its good memories and supposed good luck.

And just as he thought that was going to be the most shocking thing he witnessed today, he had watched as grumpy Cid Highwind flew down the rickety metal stairs to tightly hug the girl wearing Cloud’s sacred jersey with tears in his eyes.

Honestly, what the hell?

His phone buzzed in his hand and he brought it up in hopes that it’d be an answer to the question he texted Cloud, but rather he was greeted by a text from his younger brother.

_‘Leon where’s the ladder??? I need to get on the roof.’_

Even if he hadn’t had one of the most confusing afternoons of the year just now, Sora’s text would hardly be shocking. At least this was a situation he was well equipped to handle. Leon quickly hit call and brought the phone to his ear only to be immediately greeted with the ramblings of his brother.

“No Sora, you don’t— _Wait_ , what do you _mean_ the couch is on the roof??”

**++++**

Cid sat at the small metal table on Auron’s apartment balcony overlooking the busy street. This wasn’t the first time he ate here. This was a common thing between the two of them, but this was the first time the table held three plates of food rather than two.

[Name]. She was back. When Auron came into his office to break the news, he had half a mind to beat the shit out of him. This was supposed to be impossible. Yet, when he stepped out there she was. Same as always.

Well, not exactly the same. Her hair was roughly cut above her shoulders and there was a look in her eyes that he had never seen before. Not even on their worst days.

“You should’ve told me what you were doing. I should’ve _been there_.” Cid whispered to Auron across the table. [Name] had gone in to use the restroom.

“Merlin and I agreed that the less people who knew the better.” Auron argued.

“Yeah, but I should’ve been one of them.” Cid snapped back. He leaned back in his seat and motioned toward the door, “I mean, look at her.”

Auron stiffened in his seat, “She’s healing.”

Cid scoffed, “ _Healing_? You call _that_ healing? Auron, I know you see that- that- that _haunted_ look in her eyes. I’ve never seen her so on edge, so frazzled.” He let his gaze fall to the glass bottle in his hand as he used his thumb to swipe away condensation, “There’s a few moments when she looks at us where I can see her calm down, but then she’s right back where she was. _Scared_. And I’ve seen her look like a lot of things, but never… _never_ like this.”

“She was worse.” Auron sighed. Cid lifted his gaze back to his friend, but now Auron was looking away. Guilt was drawn on the man’s face as he spoke, “She was so much worse.”

“You won’t let me ask her”, Cid began and Auron’s eyes snapped to him in a warning look. The man had started their talk in the garage with a warning to stay away from this subject. “Then _you_ have to tell me, _what happened_? _Where_ did that portal take her?”

Auron paused, he glanced at the back door, before nodding, “The portal trapped her in an alternate dimension with _him_.” Cid sucked in a sharp breath at the words. “For 17 years, she just fought. Non-stop. At the end of one fight, she’d regenerate back to baseline and it’d begin all over again. _Jax_ … He _tortured_ her.”

Cid’s hand rubbed along the scruff on his face. Hearing that name alone filled him with rage and to hear what his friend had to go through? His hand slipped and he slammed it against the table. It rattled the plates and glasses.

“ _Fuck_.” Cid cursed through clenched teeth. He reached for the pack of cigarettes tucked into his shirt pocket but stopped when his eyes landed on [Name]’s plate. She hated the smell of the smoke, hated his dirty habit. He let his hand fall back onto his bottle and ignored the urge to light up. “We should’ve _never_ let her go through with that plan, there _had_ to have been another way.”

Auron didn’t reply and went back to looking over his balcony. Cid closed his eyes and tried not to let his mind slip into images of what that asshole monster did to her for 17 years.

**++++**

Auron’s apartment was on the smaller side. It was a one bedroom, one bathroom with an open living room and kitchen floor plan. As expected, Auron wasn’t crazy into interior design so there was not much décor to fill the rather plain, boring home. In fact, all he really had was a vase that sat by the couch against the wall and based on the style I knew it was 100% from his mother. The tan, plush couch didn’t look too uncomfortable though. It was long enough that when I slept on it tonight my feet would only dangle off a few inches. There also was no television, though again this was hardly surprising, but instead a large bookcase filled with hundreds of books.

I stepped out of the small bathroom and paused at the southern drawl of Cid’s voice.

“We should’ve _never_ let her go through with that plan, there _had_ to have been another way.”

It was a nice sentiment. In fact, I spent the first few years in hell wondering the exact same thing. I went over every angle of the war in my head repeatedly to try and find if I had thrown my life away for nothing. I had never found a different option though. No matter what, the war always ended with me stepping through the portal. The thought had given me comfort, that my life wasn’t lost in vain, but that comfort faded very quickly.

I walked back out onto the balcony and Cid was quick to replace the look of pain on his face with a smile. That was respected.

“Took you long enough, you get lost or somethin’?”

I sat back down beside him, “I just stopped to admire the couch I’m gonna be sleeping on tonight. Looks comfy.”

“You can have the bed. I’ll be sleeping in my office tonight. I have a lot of work to catch up on tonight and tomorrow.” Auron said. The was a brief pause in his voice and I recognized it as he had more to say but was still searching for a way to say it. I took in the determination that settled on his features and braced myself. This should be interesting. “[Name], speaking of my work, I should let you know that you’ve been accepted into the Academy and that the semester starts tomorrow.”

I glanced over at Cid who suddenly found his beer bottle to be of the highest interest, then back to Auron who awaited a reply, “What is this Academy?”

Cid cleared his throat, “It’s…It’s the Island’s high school.”

There was a beat of silence before laughter erupted from my lips. High School. High School? My laughing increased and their silence did nothing to deter it. Once the fit calmed, I managed to speak between breaths, “Oh God, Auron. You got a sense of humor while I was gone?”

“That he did not.” Cid mumbled.

Auron straightened himself in his seat and his determination grew, “This is _no_ joke. You need to go to school.”

“School? I’m 34 years old.”

Auron rolled his eyes and Cid let out a laugh. They both had caught my bluff, “Maybe you were born 34 years ago, but mentally, physically, and emotionally you are 17.”

He was right, but I was not going to give him the satisfaction of admitting to it. I crossed my arms and leaned back into my chair, “I am _not_ going to high school, Auron.”

“You _never_ graduated. Tomorrow you can start your senior year.”

“You freed me from one hell only to lock me into another?” I scoffed and he flinched. It was a low blow to even mention what had happened and I knew that, but this was not an argument I planned on losing. “There is no way I can sit in a tiny room for 7 hours a day surrounded by people I do not know.” He opened his mouth, but I continued. “You gave me back my life and I am eternally grateful. However, I already have a plan on what to do with it and it involves lounging on a beach somewhere _alone_.”

Auron shook his head, “This is your chance to regain what you lost. You have a second chance to live your life, [Name]. Don’t squander it away!”

“Yeah, I have a second chance at life, but it’s _my_ life! Shouldn’t _I_ get to decide how I spend it!”

Both Auron and I snapped our gazes to Cid who was mid-sip. He pulled the bottle away and coughed to clear his throat before scoffing and motioning towards Auron than to me, “17 years ago I never picked sides when y’all argued and you think suddenly now I’m stupid enough to do so? Fat chance.”

We both looked back at each other after realizing Cid wasn’t going to be helping either one of us. Auron hardened his gaze, “This training Academy is the best in all the worlds on this side of the universe. They rarely even let people in and-”

“ _Training Academy_? This high school is just like _ours_??” I cried and I felt a wave of energy flash across my skin. Cid jumped in surprise next to me and gave me a curious look. Back in the day, it wasn’t like me to lose control regardless of my emotions, but I wasn’t entirely the girl he watched walk through the portal, “It’s for _training_?”

“Of course-”

“You’ve gotta be _shitting_ me.”

Auron rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand, “Regardless of your skill level, training should never be looked down on. There is _always_ more to learn.”

He thought I was upset because I thought I no longer needed training. He thought I was insulted at the accusation. Auron didn’t understand that there was no single ounce of me that ever wanted to touch a weapon again. He didn’t get it.

“Classes start at 8 AM tomorrow and you _will_ be there.” Auron stated firmly. I roughly pushed myself away from the table, my hands crackling with energy, and stood. This conversation was obviously over, my stubborn friend wasn’t going to be hearing anything more from me. I grabbed the chair to shove it back under the table and when my skin made contact with the metal armrest there was a large spark that popped. Auron and Cid jumped back in surprise and I stormed away from the table.

As I stepped through the door, I could hear Cid mumble to Auron, “Well, now you fuckin’ did it.”

**++++**

Roxas, for the 8th time this morning, reminded himself that fist fighting his brother this early in the school year was a bad idea. Still, a small part of him egged him on. The homeroom teacher wasn’t even here yet and Ven had been a new level of annoying this morning. He deserved it, right?

“Nope, find another seat. This one’s taken.” Ven shooed away yet another student from the back-row desk between him and Roxas. “I could use a little help protecting lightning girl emoji’s seat, Roxas.”

Roxas shook his head, “Cloud said Auron asked him to have us show her around the school when she gets here, not _force_ her to sit between us and _annoy_ her to death.”

Ven ignored him entirely and rambled on, “What do you think she looks like? She’s probably got brown hair, right? Cloud’s into brunettes.”

“You’re _ridiculous_.” Roxas groaned.

His twin faked a look of hurt and held a hand over his chest, “Roxas. Show a little more interest, ok? This could be our sister-in-law.”

“ _Oh my God_.” Roxas buried his face into his hands. It was too early for this. He hadn’t even gotten his usual morning coffee since he hadn’t gotten a chance to go grocery shopping yet.

The sound of his twin groaning and the seat moving in front of him, made Roxas glance up. Riku, his once long silver hair cut short now, sat down while giving Ven a look of confusion and annoyance. His green eyes darted to Roxas, “Morning. What’s your idiot up to today?”

“Ven’s just back on his bullshit.”

“This early in the school year?”

Ven rolled his eyes, “I am not ‘ _back on my bullshit’_ yet. Cloud has a girl and as a loving brother it is _my_ job to take care of her on the first day in a new school… _and_ make sure she’s not a raging psychopath.”

Riku glanced at Roxas, “Cloud has a girlfriend?”

Roxas shook his head, “No. Ven is delusional.”

“The man has a cute little emoji by her name in his phone! Cloud _isn’t_ the emoji type.” Ven argued loudly again.

Riku smirked, “Emojis? That’s your ‘ _smoking gun’_ evidence? Sora has an emoji by my name.”

“Yes, but that only helps my case because I’ve _always_ been under the belief that you and Sora are a little gay for each other.” Ven replied and Riku rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath.

There was a chance Roxas wouldn’t even have to fight his own brother since Riku might lunge at the blond himself. He sighed, “Sora and Kairi have been dating on and off since we were sophomores.”

Ven kept his eyes locked on Riku but stage whispered to Roxas, “Well, maybe there’d be less off time if a certain silver haired fiend wasn’t in the picture.”

Riku broke his glare at Ven to look at Roxas, “It’s too early in the morning for me to murder your twin.”

“So, I keep reminding myself.”

Conversation lulled as Ven was distracted by a text on his phone. Roxas watched homeroom continue to fill up with students. He recognized them all, the Islands were small and the Academy was even smaller, but it looked like the only close friend in homeroom with him and Ven was Riku. Just as he thought that though, a familiar brown haired, blue eyed guy bounced into the room. His bookbag was haphazardly hanging from the crook of his elbow, a wide, happy grin on his face, but Roxas could only stare at the drinks in his hands.

“Morning guys!” Sora chirped and went to sit down by Roxas only to be shooed to another desk by Ven. Sora gave him a curious look but sat next to Riku in front of the empty desk. “Here, Roxas.”

Sora handed him a cup of coffee before handing the other to Riku. Ven finally pulled his head out of his phone to notice this, “Hey, where’s mine?”

“Riku said you already had one.” Sora shrugged. Riku shot Ven a smirk before taking a sip of his own drink. Sora’s smile flipped into a frown, “And _hey_! Why did Axel put my couch on the roof? Leon nearly killed me!”

“Axel thinks _you’re_ the one who dyed his whites pink.”

“Well, why does Axel think that??”

Ven paused, a look of mock innocence on his face, “Fair question.”

Sora pointed at him but the look on his face didn’t exactly strike fear in the heart of anybody, “See if I get you coffee _ever_ this semester.”

“Oh, come on, Sora.” Ven pleaded, “So he put your couch on the roof. If he had found out I did it, then he would’ve escalated even _further_. He would’ve gotten Roxas to put _Nair_ in my shampoo or something.”

Roxas shrugged, “And what a shame that would be.”

“I don’t like your tone.” Ven narrowed his eyes at him. Roxas just raised an eyebrow at his brother before taking a long sip of his coffee. Dealing with Ven in the morning was a lot easier when he was caffeinated.

The bell rang, but there was still no new girl. Roxas glanced over the room again to see if they had missed her while arguing, but every face in the room he had seen before in the halls. Sora turned around while Mrs. Tolbert, their homeroom teacher, began to call roll.

“Who were you saving this seat for?”

“Cloud’s girlfriend.” Ven replied before picking up his phone.

Sora’s eyes widened in surprise and he turned to Riku for confirmation. Riku just shook his head at his friend. Roxas looked over at Ven while roll went on, “You’re not texting Cloud are you?”

Ven shook his head, “Of course not, he’s got enough on his plate this morning with that test. I texted Auron.”

Roxas nodded. Maybe the new girl had just gotten lost. The Academy wasn’t hard to find your way around once you learned the layout, but it could be intimidating to a new face since it was on the same campus as the Institute. For all he knew, she could’ve accidentally walked into the wrong building.

“[Name] Braska?” Mrs. Tolbert called only to be met with silence.

Roxas let his gaze land on the empty desk. He hoped she wasn’t having too rough of a time this morning. He could imagine how much it would suck to be a new kid during senior year. Being lost on the first day with no allies sounded like a hell of a time. Hopefully, she’d find her way soon.

**++++**

People assumed that because I was a lightning elemental, the only kind of weather I liked was storms. I mean, they weren’t entirely wrong. Storms were great. Nothing felt better than feeling the crackling of lighting hanging in the air while the thunder rumbled in my chest. That didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the bright sunshine though.

Lightning was hot. With a crack, it’d bring a kind of heat that one couldn’t even imagine unless it was felt for themselves. I loved that heat. I lived for it.

Now, the sun was a different kind of heat, it was warm. Enveloping. It lingered and soaked into my skin.

I heaved a sigh and readjusted myself in the lounge chair I sat in. My feet were buried in the sand and I dug my toes into the coolness of the deep, wet sand as the ocean lapped at my ankles.

Today was the first day of school and I know Auron would be disappointed to see me sitting on an abandoned part of the beach in my sports bra and shorts with a lounge chair I had bought using the lunch money he gave me, but I had warned him. I had told him I wasn’t about to play the whole ‘ _school’_ game and if he didn’t believe me that was on him.

Why didn’t he understand that this wasn’t the life I wanted again? The whole point of getting a second chance was to learn from your previous mistakes. I didn’t want responsibility or the wellbeing of others on my shoulders. I wanted relaxation and peace. I wanted to put the old war behind me for good, not begin training for a new one.

I heaved one last sigh and let my mind clear. It wasn’t time to stress or worry. Today was about feeling something that I hadn’t truly felt in 17 years. Today was about warmth and freedom.


	4. new kid on the block.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I don't gossip. Maybe sometimes I find out things, or hear something, and pass that information on... you know, like a public service announcement."  
> -Rachel Green (FRIENDS)

**++++**

The garage looked nothing like it did yesterday. Now, it was filled with workers moving about, the sound of welding filled the air, and it was blistering hot. Auron assumed the heat came from the welding. The Shera had been moved to the side so four smaller ships could be scattered about.

“Johnson, I swear to God, if you don’t _move your ass_ -”

Even amongst the chaos though, Cid was always easy to find. He was typically the loudest and angriest in the room. Auron stopped to let to mechanics rush by, holding what looked like part of a motor, and then continued toward the still barking garage owner.

“Cid.” Auron called out.

Cid paused in yelling at the cringing Johnson to spare him a glance, “What, Auron? Can’t you see I’m busy? A group of idiot kids wrecked four sea runners this morning and according to the mayor if I don’t get them fixed _before noon_ the damn island will just _fall apart_.” He scoffed and shooed Johnson away, “Go fix something before I shove you into an engine block, for the love of the light.”

Auron held back his own annoyance at the moment and just watched as Cid pulled a half-burned cigarette from behind his ear and re-lit it. After a few puffs, Cid seemed to simmer slightly. He nodded to Auron, “Now what?”

“[Name] never showed up to class. Ventus texted me.”

Cid paused and then shrugged, “And you’re surprised? She was pretty clear yesterday on her opinion of all this.”

“She _needs_ this.”

“ _She_ needs this, or _you_ need this?” Cid pressed. Auron clenched his jaw in response. The reason he came here rather than going to find her himself was because he wanted some support in this decision. Yet instead the greasy mechanic was filling him with doubt. Maybe he should’ve just dealt with this alone.

Cid barked out another order before motioning Auron to follow him up to his office. The office was small and a complete mess. Auron was unsure how Cid even functioned in the dump, but Cid was adamant that everything had its place.

Auron broke their silence as Cid dug through a rowdy pile for some folder, “She needs her life to be _normalized_. The fastest way for that to happen is school.”

“Why? She’s _far_ from normal. Always has been.” Cid flipped through the file, taking another drag from his cigarette, “Would it be the worst thing in the world if she just went on vacation? Her last vacation was probably _before_ she discovered she was an elemental.”

“Yes, it would be the worst thing. If she just blocks herself out of the world all she’s left with is her thoughts and memories. She _needs_ life. She _needs_ friends and activity.” Auron watched as Cid tossed aside the folder with a shake of his head and continued to look for another. “[Name] was _never_ meant to spend her days alone. She needs social interaction.”

Cid closed the next file he found and tucked it under his arm, it must have been what he was looking for, “I agree. She’s always been a social butterfly, and since most of her friends are older or dead it’d be good for her to branch out.”

“You couldn’t have said that yesterday during the argument?” Auron scoffed.

Cid pointed at him, “You weren’t making these points yesterday during the argument. Y’all just shouted at each other. In fact, have you told _her_ any of these _oh-so-brilliant_ points?” Auron didn’t reply and the smug look on Cid’s face told him that this alone was evident enough. Cid smirked at him, “You know where to find her, right?”

“Of course, I do.” Auron grumbled and turned to leave.

**++++**

Yuffie bounced down the hall, skipping through the crowd with light feet and ease as her eyes searched for a familiar face. She had been hoping to find her Level 3 friends out in the hall, but she had no qualms with bursting into their classroom. Her next class was just study hall and if they expected her to actually show up consistently to that then administration was sorely mistaken.

“Hey!” She chirped and slid into an empty seat next to Tifa Lockhart who was speaking to a student Yuffie wasn’t overly familiar with. The brunette said a quick goodbye before giving Yuffie her amused attention.

“Morning, Yuffie. Didn’t think I’d see you in ‘ _Level 3 Strategy and Planning’_.” Tifa chuckled and tucked some loose hair behind her ear. “What’s up?”

“Did you hear the news??” Yuffie questioned. Tifa’s shake of her head made Yuffie’s grin grow. She loved being the first to share news and this news was hot off the presses. Ven had told Terra who told Aqua who mentioned it to her in passing only a class period ago. “Cloud has a girlfriend!”

Tifa’s eyes widened in surprise, “A girlfriend? I don’t think so. Don’t you think we would’ve heard about this first? From Cloud himself?”

“The islands are small, Tifa.” Yuffie argued as Leon came over and sat on the other side of Tifa silently. “Things spread quick whether the person wants them to or not and this news comes straight from Ven.”

Leon chuckled, “Since when has Ven been considered a reliable resource?”

“Cloud has a girlfriend and she’s not from the Islands. It was a _summer romance_.” Yuffie clasped her hands together and leaned back in her seat like she was swooning at the thought.

The statement made Leon pause, but Tifa continued with a chuckle and shake of her head, “He was with Auron all summer.”

Yuffie smirked, “I hear he’s dating Auron’s secret daughter.”

“ _Who_ is dating Auron’s secret daughter and do they have a _death wish_?” Zack Fair entered the conversation and sat at the same round table as them, across from Tifa and Leon.

He was chuckling along with Tifa, as Tifa caught him up on Cloud being the one tempting fate by dating Auron’s supposed ‘ _out of the blue’_ daughter. Yuffie crossed her arms at her news being nay-sayed by the two of them. Leon, however, was quiet.

The raven haired, Level 3 student noticed this and laughed again, “Come on, Leon. You’re not buying into this are you?”

“It’s the _truth_!” Yuffie argued loudly again.

Leon shook his head, “Yesterday, I ran into Auron at Cid’s garage.” The laughter stopped at his tone of disbelief. Yuffie leaned forward to the edge of her seat with a wide smile, eager to hear more. Leon paused again in thought before continuing, “He was with a girl about Sora’s age, they seemed close, and she was…”

“ _Yes, yes, yes??”_ Yuffie urged him on.

“She was wearing his _lucky jersey_.”

It was silent between the four of them as they all let this soak in. Yuffie suddenly let out a squeal of excitement making the three others, and the rest of the room, jump in surprise. This was better than anything else she had heard. A mysterious girl, close to the stony Auron, wearing Cloud’s revered jersey?? Once at the Academy, Yuffie had just tried to pick up the jersey and Cloud nearly bit her head off.

“No way.” Zack breathed and grabbed his phone to start texting.

Tifa began to slowly smile, “Oh my God, he has a girlfriend? Cloud ‘ _I don’t need anyone’_ Strife, is _dating_?” She pulled out her phone and opened up an old group chat, “And he didn’t tell any of us? Oh, he’s gonna hear from me.”

Yuffie squealed again in giddy joy before saying her good-byes and racing out of the room, leaving her friends confused and surprised. The bell rang and she continued to bounce down the hall. Which class was Aerith or Angeal in? She needed to share the news.

**++++**

The heat on my skin was interrupted by a shadow being cast over me. I didn’t bother to open my eyes or even release the grumble that built in my throat. To be honest, I really thought I’d get away with being missing from school for at least a day or two before he found me. The fact that Auron managed to interrupt my sunbathing time within 3 hours of me being gone was just downright disappointing. I had lost my touch.

“You’re in my sun.” I complained.

“You’re not in school.”

I cracked my eyes open and pushed my sunglasses to the bridge of my nose so I could look at him. He didn’t look very angry or even that upset. That was a surprise.

“I told you I wasn’t going to go, Auron.”

I said the words expecting it to kick up an argument, but Auron was silent. He took in the sight of my lounge chair and water bottle half buried in sand, then he looked out over the ocean.

“How’d you get back to this spot?”

That was my fault. If I had picked a more remote location, one he had never been to before, then maybe I would’ve had more time. However, at the end of the day I was still a creature of habit. This was _my_ patch of the island. I claimed it 20 years ago when we were last here and that didn’t change just because I was stuck in some alternate universe hellhole.

I stood up and walked over to the lone palm tree in my little patch of beach and leaned against it. The tree had grown since I last saw, it was now long and part of it branched out across the waves. Still on the side though, I could see a star that I had carved into its bark.

“Asked a guy in a boat to take me. Used all my cash to buy the chair, but he was nice.” I shrugged and crossed my arms, “He didn’t charge me… How’d _you_ get here?”

“You think Cid or I forgot any of your favorite hiding spots?”

I chuckled, “Are you sure? I got a lot of them, all over the universe.”

Every world I visited had a spot I claimed, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Auron and Cid had each one memorized. They had been my closest friends. They had always been the one to come find me after I hid, to drag me back from the dread in my mind into reality. It was honestly fitting that we were here again. Me, hiding from the worlds, him trying to drag me kicking and screaming back into them.

“Would you like to take a walk?” He motioned back toward the direction of the dock.

I sighed and walked back over to pick up the water bottle I had taken from his apartment. The lounge chair could stay, I planned on returning. Auron led me down the beach, but his pace was slow. After a few steps I pulled the plain shirt I had brought with me back over my torso.

“I’m sorry.” Auron said and my eyebrows raised in surprise, “I should not have argued with you like I did yesterday about the school thing. I should have just told you what I felt.”

I drug my bare feet through the sand, “Do you still want me to go to school?”

“Yes.”

“Why, Auron?”

He came to a stop. I could see the dock in the distance with a small rowboat tied to it. Auron turned so he was facing me entirely, blocking my view of the dock, “You need people in your life, [Name], and this training school is filled with people like you. You can train further alongside them, gain new friends, they understand-”

“They can’t possibly understand, they _aren’t_ like me!” I cried in desperation. How could I put it to him to make him understand? This new world didn’t have a war hanging over their heads. They didn’t live through impending doom every day. Cloud and Auron had both told me that the last clash with darkness, the last battle had been 17 years ago. Right now, they were going through a time of balance and peace. I didn’t care how qualified or skilled they were, training during a time of war was different than training during a time of peace.

Auron set his hand on my shoulder, “[Name], please. Tell me your thoughts.”

“We were born into a war we shouldn’t have had to fight.” I said firmly. It was the first time I had ever voiced those thoughts aloud. As much as I believed them, as much as I felt that in my soul, I wasn’t trained to state it. “As soon as we were old enough to hold a weapon without falling over, they started training us.” My voice wavered and my skin crawled with energy, “I _love_ my parents.”

Auron’s face softened when I mentioned them. He knew how hard I took their deaths; he knew how much that shaped who I was. He gripped my shoulder tighter in comfort, ignoring the electricity I knew I was accidentally conducting, “[Name]-”

“I _love_ them more than _anything_ in the damned universe, but— they _didn’t_ raise a daughter, Auron. They raised a _soldier_. And I’ve been a _good_ solider, I have.” My fists clenched with a spark and I shoved the energy down again. “I fought when I was told to, I marched into battle with nothing but sheer willpower and determination, I didn’t ask questions, hell, when it came down to it… I paid the ultimate sacrifice a solider can give. I agreed to _die_ for the damn cause. And I don’t regret that.” I shook my head with resolve. I didn’t regret that. Regardless of what it did to me, what I suffered. “It had to be done and I was the only one who could do it, I _know_ that. If I could go back in time I would do it all over again, even with the knowledge of what happens next, because it saved you. It saved Cid and Lulu and Barrett, and everyone else in the damned worlds. But now… Now, I’ve been given the chance to do something different with my life, Auron, just like you said, and I can’t just brush that off.”

I didn’t realize I was crying until the first tear rolled down my cheeks, but once it did they didn’t stop. My chest was heaving with sobs and Auron didn’t hesitate to pull me into his chest.

“Shh, it’s ok. I’m sorry.” Auron whispered into my hair as he held me tightly.

“I am so sick of fighting, I am sick of being a solider.” I breathed as the tears began to slow on their own. “I just want to be me…or what’s left of me.”

“And you can.” Auron said firmly. He pulled away to look me in the eyes, his hand swiped away a stray tear, “I didn’t think about that and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed you’d want to return to training. It’s… It’s just all I know.”

I shook my head, “It isn’t your fault.”

Auron sighed and his determination returned, “But you _have_ to listen to me, [Name]. You can’t run to the edges of the universe and hide. It isn’t your nature, you weren’t built to be alone.” He wasn’t wrong. Although there were times, I wanted to be the only person on the world, there always came the moment where I craved a friend. Where I craved people. However, I wasn’t sure if I could allow myself that luxury anymore. “Forget training, I can—I can get that taken care of, but you need to go to school. To make friends and be around life. That’s what you’re missing, that’s the final part of your healing, [Name].”

“My final part of healing?” My eyes narrowed in confusion.

Auron nodded, “You have to be able to let people in. Let them in and then _let them_ _stay_.”

I knew what he meant, but the risk was too great. I wanted to heal, more than anything I wanted this to just be a scar on my soul rather than a festering wound, but at the core of my being there was still a fear I hadn’t voiced. A fear I was almost too scared to even face.

The fear that if I could make it out of that hellish world, so could Jax.

And when he did finally find a way to break out, he wouldn’t just come to kill me. He would come to _destroy_ me, _annihilate_ me. Jax would find every person I cared about, every old friend I loved, any new friend I made, and he would slaughter them just to get a rise out of me, and I could not risk that. It was bad enough that my old friends would have a target painted on their backs. I refused to let him paint new ones.

“Ok, Auron.” I whispered, “I’ll go to school.”

“Really?” He pressed.

I looped my arm through his and the two of us began to walk to the dock again, “Yeah, really.” If I was going to one day run away to put as much distance between them and the ones I loved then I was going to have to appease him for now. “Did you tell them…?”

“I never mentioned you being an elemental or having past training.” Auron assured me, “You really only got in because of my name sake.”

I laughed, “Wow, I’m one of _those_ people now?” He smiled and shrugged. I sobered up quickly though and sighed, “They’ll have to know, won’t they though? I’m an elemental. If I don’t wear a tag and they find out we’ll-”

Auron shook his head, “Elementals haven’t had to wear tags in the past 15 years. That law was abolished. They don’t even have to identify themselves to the public if they don’t want to.”

“Wait, really?? I never thought…” My words trailed off. I could hardly imagine a school or world where I didn’t have to be outed for being an elemental. The public used to look at it with such disdain and distaste. They said we needed to be found and marked for the protection of society, yet here we were in a year where tags were no longer even a question.

“There’s actually a handful of elementals enrolled in both the Academy and Institute. Four, if I remember correctly?”

I didn’t get to meet many other elementals back in my day. When we fought each squadron had their own elemental and each squadron didn’t often mix. Since I was the team’s elemental, we didn’t have any others knocking on our doors.

“Now, there’s just enough time that we can make it back to the main Island so you can get to your afternoon classes.” Auron said with a small smile. I should’ve known I wasn’t going to get away with getting the rest of today off. “Your school uniform is in my room along with your class schedule.”

My feet dug into the sand as I came to an abrupt stop, halting him along with me, “I’m sorry, my school _what_??”

**++++**

Axel tilted his head back a little more and let the sun’s rays fall fully on his face. The light created a glow through his closed eyes and the heat filled his body with a slow flow of energy. In the past, he had lived in so many various places. Moving from world to world with his mom had been an endless adventure and he had seen so many worlds, but no world beat the warmth from Destiny Islands sun.

“Aw, is the little flower getting his daily dose of vitamin D?”

Axel chuckled and opened his eyes to see his red-haired cousin standing in front of him with his arms crossed. Axel stood to meet his stance, “I think you’re just jealous I get more breaks than you do, busy little wanna be Turk.” He glanced at the watch on his wrist then looked back to Reno’s sharp blue eyes, “It’s nearly 12:30, don’t you have somewhere to be? Someone’s _ass_ to _kiss_?”

“I think you mean ass to _kick_.” Reno retorted.

Axel shook his head, “No, I meant what I said.”

Reno rolled his eyes and readjusted the sleeves of his shirt. He had already stripped out of his blazer and folded up his sleeves, but the summer day was still burning him to a crisp. Axel noticed this and pushed a slight wave of heat off his skin. Enough to make his cousin sweat more, but not enough for him to notice it happen.

“God, this weather is unbearable. Not a cloud in the sky, absolute _bullshit_.” Reno scoffed and motioned toward the bench where three brown bags sat, “What’s up with that? You beat up some poor high schooler for their lunch or something?”

“Something like that.” Axel shrugged nonchalantly then grinned as a thought occurred to him, “Hey, you hear about Strife?”

Reno paused, “Nosy Strife, Angry Strife, or Big Strife?”

“Big Strife.” Axel answered, he glanced around the crowded courtyard then back to Reno, “He got himself a girlfriend.”

Reno nodded, “Nice. Him and Tifa?”

“Nope. Him and _Auron’s daughter_.”

The blue-eyed Sinclair boy laughed, “Who in their right mind would risk their life by attempting to date Auron’s daughter— _also_ , Auron has a _daughter_??”

Axel waved off his questioning, “Adopted daughter so I hear, but it’s for real. I heard they met over the summer, hit things off, Auron nearly murdered Cloud-”

“Naturally.” Reno nodded.

“And then Cloud gave her his lucky jersey to show Auron he was serious about it all.” Axel crossed his arms and let another wave of heat roll off his skin. “Now, Auron moved her here so she could go to school and they could be together.”

Reno fanned his face with one hand, “How touching. Where did you all hear this??”

“I heard it from Yuffie.”

“ _Yuffie_ is our source?”

Axel heard the disbelief and rolled his eyes, “Yes, yes, but she heard it from Aqua who heard it from Terra who heard it from Ventus.”

“ _Nosy Strife_ is our source?” The same disbelief could be heard loud and clear.

The fire elemental groaned. How come people these days didn’t enjoy the rumors as they came? Why did they have to play 50 questions about it? He continued, “Ok, so maybe Ven isn’t the brightest kid on campus. I mean, _he_ still thinks that _I_ think Sora was the one who ruined my whites”, Axel took the time to pull down the neck of his shirt to show the bright pink undershirt he now wore, “But he’s Cloud’s brother. He’s gotta have insider information.”

“I guess.” Reno mumbled as he thought it over. Axel didn’t find the rumor that hard to believe. Cloud was a good guy. Maybe he wasn’t the most expressive all the time or loudest of the bunch, but he meant well. Sure, Roxas would complain from time to time about him, but from what Axel hears that’s what you’re supposed to do when you have siblings. At the end of the day, Roxas would throw hands for his brother in a heartbeat and that kind of loyalty definitely meant something. “Wait, wait… If you know Sora wasn’t the one who pranked you how come you put his sofa on the roof of his house?”

Axel noticed a familiar head of black hair bobbing and weaving through the crowded courtyard. He shrugged and turned around to pick up two of the bags, “I don’t know. Throw Ven off? Honestly, it just seemed fun. Plus, Saix is out of town right now and he’s like 70% of my impulse control.”

“ _Axel_!”

He turned just in time for Xion to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug. Axel grinned and lightly patted her back with his free hand, “Hey, Xion. How was your summer?”

“It was great! What about you?”

“Eh, the usual.” He replied and quickly moved on, “Here’s lunch. Mind giving the second bag to Roxy? His house was out of groceries.”

Xion nodded, “Sure.” She turned to Reno and smiled, “Hey Reno, it’s nice to see you too.”

Reno gave her a wave and nod. Xion quickly made Axel promise to see her and Roxas after school before rushing back to her lunch break. Reno watched her go, “What year is she again?”

“Junior.” Axel replied. Reno nodded and let out a frustrated breath. He was visibly sweating now and obviously uncomfortable in his skin. Axel, on the other hand, never felt better. He smirked, “Feeling a little warm there, Reno?”

“Yeah it’s— _Hey_!” He shoved Axel who chuckled in response. Axel reabsorbed the heat surrounding them and Reno immediately felt cooler. “ _Dick_.”

Axel scooped up his own lunch and began to walk away, “If you can’t stand the heat, Reno, then keep your distance.”

**++++**

Not to sound dramatic, but the school uniform made me want to run away to my next hiding place on the list. It felt stuffy and cheesy, and why were they even a thing in the first place? The Institute apparently didn’t have uniforms so why did the Academy? It’s not like I even had a choice to rebel either since I owned literally _no clothes_. I guess I could’ve shown up in Cloud’s jersey, but something told me that would be worse.

I took off my sunglasses and continued to adjust my uniform how I saw fit. Auron had walked me to campus like a cheerful dad on the first day of his daughter’s new school. He put the bright red bookbag onto my back and watched me walk into the massive, three story building. A part of me was sure he just did that to make sure I didn’t run away again though.

The front doors I walked through led into an open hall which was brightly lit from the many large windows. The walls and floors were a clean light gray while the doors and few lockers I saw were shades of dark green, light blue, and white.

Right now, the space was empty, so I used this opportunity to slip off my black, dress shoes and remove the knee-high socks I wore. Wasn’t crazy about those. I slipped the shoes back on and walked down the hall while simultaneously stuffing the navy socks into my bookbag. There wasn’t much I can do for the light blue plaid, plaited skirt or the short sleeve white button up shirt, but I did loosen the matching tie around my neck. As I continued down the hall, I finally noticed the sign for a front office. You’d think they’d actually put that in the front.

I slipped through the dark green door. It was a decent sized office space with couches in the waiting area, a desk with a red headed woman behind it, and more doors that led into administrations’ offices. I wonder if Auron had an office here or if his was on the other side of campus at the Institute.

“Good afternoon! How can I help you?” The woman chirped without looking up from her typing on a computer.

I crossed the room, my hands on the straps of my bag, “Um I’m new. I have my schedule, but do I need locker information or… or something?”

She finally looked up and smiled warmly at me, “I can get you your locker number and lock code. What’s your name, sweetie?”

“[Name] Braska.” I used Auron’s last name like he requested I do.

Her eyes widened and she paused, “[Name] Braska? As in, Auron’s adopted daughter?”

Auron had mentioned that this was the cover story we were going with on the islands, so I nodded without hesitation. I even offered her a warm smile to sell the story further. It was a smile that said _‘hi nice to meet you please give me what I need so I can leave thanks’_.

She typed a few more times, glancing at me and my cheerful smile anytime she stopped, and then moved to grab something as a printer began to spew out papers. She quickly came back and offered me the first page, “This is a map and the information for your locker. Welcome to the Academy, we’re so eager to have Auron’s daughter here.”

“Adopted. And thanks.” I gave her a thumbs up and quickly left.

According to the map, my locker was on the third floor so I backtracked to where I had seen an elevator and took it up. The elevator’s back wall was glass and it gave me the frontside view of the large school and campus. They sure spared no expenses in building this place that was for sure.

The third floor looked just like the first with various lockers lining the inside wall in the center of the building. There was a hallway that branched directly to my left filled with doors and it looked like another at the end of the hallway I was in also filled with doors. I walked around the center portion of this circular hall to find a third, straight hallway filled with doors. Where I stood now, directly across from that second hallway unable to see it past the lockers, there was a large space filled with couches, chairs, and tables. There was also some vending machines and the front wall was made entirely of glass so you could look out the front of the school. I assumed the second floor also looked just like this one.

I went back to finding my locker, it was number 113, and it was on the opposite side of the circular hallway from where I came in. My locker was one of the light blue ones and the electronic lock was easy enough to figure out. I went to type in the code and jumped when my finger let out a shock.

“Aw, _fuck_.” I mumbled under my breath and stared at the locker. The electronic lock screen was no longer lit up and instead was a dark gray. That was probably not good. I closed my eyes and took in a sharp breath. Come on, get it together get it together. One cleansing breath later and it felt like I had sucked in all the excess energy I let slip from my emotional outburst earlier today.

The lock was still broken, but the door opened freely. I tried it a few times to see if anything would change, but nothing did. Open, close, open, close. Guess this meant I wasn’t going to use this locker for any high security items.

Suddenly, a sharp bell rang and the halls came to life. My cleansing breath went out the window as a crowd began to fill the area around me. My hand clenched the locker door and I focused all my efforts on keeping my excess energy tight against my skin. The last thing I needed was to accidentally fry the entire hallway just because my emotional stability was shit.

The crowds lessened slightly as students began to go to their next class and my shoulders loosened in response. God, Auron had asked if I wanted this, but maybe he should’ve asked if I could even handle it. Electricity wasn’t washing off me in unintentional waves and I had the ability to control it again, but these lapses of control due to emotions was killing me. It was like I was 13 again sparking at the slightest bit of anger, sadness, or nervousness.

“Hey, lightning girl.”

I jumped in surprise at the unfamiliar voice directed at me and turned to see a blond guy leaning against the locker a couple down from mine. He wore the school uniform, light blue plaid pants and white button up shirt, but he was missing his tie entirely. His hair was a short mess of blond spikes and his eyes were a blue that reminded me of the deeper portion of the ocean.

He had a smirk on his lips and the smirk was the most familiar part of him.

“ _Lightning_ … _girl_?” The words spilt from my mouth in confusion. My eyes darted to my hands briefly to look for sparks. Shit, I wasn’t sparking, was I?

“Yeah, [Name]?” The guy continued. He straightened his posture so he was a taller than me by some. “You met my brother Cloud. He has your name in his phone with a lightning bolt?”

The relief that filled my body was staggering. I relaxed and let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding, “Right. Right.” I could see it now. This was one of Cloud’s younger brothers. He resembled Cloud slightly, if you squinted, but the smirk was the same one Cloud would wear at the house when he was in a moment of sass. “Cloud mentioned you. Ven or Roxas?”

“Ven.” He motioned to himself, “Auron texted me and said you finally made it to class. Did you get lost this morning?”

I nodded, “Something like that.”

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you. What class do you have?” As he asked it the bell rang, but he seemed unconcerned about either of us being late. I showed him my schedule and his eyes glanced over it before a grin spread across his features, “Nice! You got Study Hall next. That’s perfect.” He began to walk away from me with my schedule in hand. I paused before quickly following him. He walked into the back hallway a few steps before pointing down the hall toward a set of dark green double doors, “That’s where the library is. It’s where you go for Study Hall, but we won’t go there now.”

“Why not?” I asked as he placed the schedule back in my hands and walked back towards my locker.

Ven shrugged and gave me a glance over his shoulder, “You already missed your first three morning classes. Are you really that opposed to missing Study Hall too?”

He had a fair point. I shook my head and followed him over to where the couches and tables were. Ven plopped down onto a navy-blue couch and motioned to the seat beside him. Hesitantly, I sat down.

“We’re seniors so the third floor is ours. This is where our lockers are and most of our classes. The floor below us is for juniors, and the first floor is for sophomores. That’s A, B, C on our schedules.” Ven explained. I glanced down at my paper to see each class had a location code next to it. For example, my math class read _‘CW23’_. He continued, “The hallway to the left there is the East Wing. It has the English and history type classes. The hallway on the right is West Wing, it has sciences and maths. Then that back hallway was the South Wing and it usually has the electives.”

That explained the letters E, W, and S on my schedule.

I nodded, “And I assume the numbers are the room number.”

Ven snapped his fingers, “Look at you, quick as a whip.” I couldn’t help but chuckle and roll my eyes before shoving the schedule back into my bag. “Like I said before, library is on this floor, lunchroom is in the same place just second floor, and the training gym is on the first floor.”

I ignored the word training and tried not to show the rise it brought up in me. Quickly, I cleared my throat and leaned back into the seat, “What class are you skipping right now?”

“Math. It’s first day though so all I’m gonna miss is the teacher prattling on about the syllabus.” Ven shrugged, “Forget that though, let’s go over what we _really_ need to talk about.”

He had a mischievous smile on his lips, and I glanced away in confusion, “I just met you, what would we need to talk about so desperately?”

“Are you dating my older brother? And don’t bother lying because I know the-”

“No.”

“Wait, _what_?”

I shook my head and scrunched my eyebrows together in thought, “Dating? No. He’s just my… friend. He helped me when I needed someone most is all.”

Ven actually looked surprised at the truth, “But the emoji after your name and the lucky jersey that I just found out about-”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his distress, “It’s all a misunderstanding. Where I’m from…” I paused to mentally go over the cover story Auron and I talked about on the way over, “I was stranded in some outer worlds. There wasn’t much out there and Auron got me out of there, but I missed out on some things. Cloud came with Auron to help me and we became friends. I put the emoji in his phone because I thought they were cute and I stole his jersey, I didn’t know it was lucky. I’ll give it back to him.”

“Oh.” Ven replied slowly. “Sorry to hear about you being stranded.”

“It’s over now.” I said quickly, putting an end to that conversation topic.

Ven crossed his arms, “Well then how come you’re ghosting him? I figured that was because you two were in a fight or something.”

I blinked in confusion and repeated the word that had me lost, “ _Ghosting_?”

He looked surprised at my lack of knowledge of the word, “Yeah, you know, when you wanna cut someone out of your life so you block them on social media and ignore them.”

Oh. So there was a word for that now. Yikes.

I mentally blanched at the definition and sank in my seat. It was a reminder that I was being an absolute ass to someone who didn’t deserve it in the slightest. That I was taking a cowardly way out on top of it all.

“I was just having a bad few days and I didn’t wanna worry him about his test.” I lied.

Ven grinned, “That was nice of you.” And with that statement I felt even worse. He continued, “Did you hear? He texted Roxas and I over lunch and said the test went really good. He’s on his way back right now.”

A genuine smile escaped me, “That’s great, I’m really glad he did well. He was studying so much during the summer.”

Ven took this as an opportunity to tell me a story about his older brother. I spent the first few moments trying to find an excuse to rush to study hall, but the more and more Ven talked the more I was drawn into the stories he told.

What could one conversation hurt?

**++++**

The text had indicated that his presence was absolutely of utmost importance, with at least 4 exclamation points to emphasize this, but Roxas was familiar with his brother’s theatrics. However, his science class was in the middle of a safety lab course and that was way worse than anything Ven could drag him into at the moment.

He stepped out into the main hall where the lockers were to see his brother sitting with, who he assumed to be, the missing new girl. She wasn’t what he expected, but then again, he hadn’t really known what to expect. Her [hair color] hair seemed messily cut in an uneven way, but maybe that was just the style? Roxas had seen odder things. Her [eye color] eyes were glued to his brother in amusement and attention. The girl was so into whatever story Ven was exaggerating about that she didn’t even notice him step into the hall.

Roxas took a few steps closer and those bright eyes snapped to him. The amusement flashed to wariness and the brief coldness of her eyes made him pause mid-step. The look was gone so fast that he wondered if he had imagined it completely, but the tenseness in her shoulders still lingered. The girl pointed toward him and Ven spun around.

“Rox-Pox!” Ven greeted and waved him over. Roxas bit back his retort on the nickname and sat down in the single seat couch beside the two of them. “This is [Name] and she is _NOT_ dating our brother.”

Roxas glanced at [Name], who now had on a small, polite smile, back to his grinning twin, “I already told you that. _Cloud_ already told you that.”

“Sorry if I caused any confusion.” She shrugged.

“Don’t worry, the only person who was confused was Ven.” He leaned forward and offered his hand, “I’m Roxas.” There was a brief hesitation that he noticed, like she had to steel herself, before she met him halfway and shook his hand quickly. He cleared his throat, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

[Name] nodded, “Likewise.”

“So where are you-”

Ven interrupted him quickly, “She’s from Gongaga originally, but don’t ask her if she knows Zack. She doesn’t.”

“Ok, well what brings you-”

Again, Ven spoke, “She came to Destiny Islands since Auron is her new legal guardian. The ‘ _Auron is going through his mid-life crisis and adopted a kid’_ rumor was true.”

Roxas shot his brother a glare, inviting him to speak again, but Ven just smiled at him innocently. He glanced back at [Name] who’s lips and turned up into a small smirk, “How long have you known Aur-”

“She met him-”

“ _Oh my God_.” Roxas threw his hands up, “Am I meeting [Name] for the first time or you??”

[Name] let out a light laugh, and it was the first thing Roxas noticed that wasn’t forced since he saw her listening to his brother. Ven leaned back in his seat, throwing his hands over the back of the chair with a wide grin, “It’s not my fault that I’m quicker than you.”

“I don’t know how long you’ve had to deal with my brother so far, but let me go ahead and apologize.” Roxas apologized.

[Name]’s eyes darted between the two of them before settling back on Roxas, “It’s ok. Someone had to bite the bullet and deal with him today, right?”

Ven’s eyes widened in mock hurt, but Roxas saw the delight on his twin’s features. He put a hand over his chest, “That hurts, [Name]. I thought we were bonding.” Ven shook his head, “You spent too much time with Cloud over the summer. That’s what that is.”

“Or she’s just a quick learner and picked up on your bullshit fast.” Roxas crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. Ven gasped again as if the cruelest attack had been made on him and he began to delve into an exaggerated story on how mistreated and abused he was by his friends.

Again, [Name]’s eyes lit up as his twin got really into the story. He’d admit that Ven was a good storyteller. There was no doubt in that and Roxas had seen plenty of people mesmerized by one his more interesting tales, but this was different. [Name] listened intently, hanging off every word, she looked like someone who just found a new book or tv show to obsess over.

It was kind of odd.

If fact, she was kind of odd.

He glanced at her one more time, but other than the earlier hesitance Roxas saw no malice or ill intent in her bright eyes.

**++++**

Ven was fun. He was just filled with this energy that I had forgotten some people could have. The way he spoke and told stories had me absorbed in every word and honest to God laughing. Plus watching him and his brother Roxas interact with each other was so entertaining. I had told myself I was going to keep a wall up and not deal with either of them more than what was needed, but I couldn’t resist. Their liveliness was contagious.

Of the two, Ven was definitely the bubblier and louder twin, but Roxas had this casual snark that I could vibe with. While they bickered, I tried to find any physical differences I could. Roxas’ hair was a shade darker than Ven’s, Cloud’s too from what I could remember, and he seemed to have a more slim, muscled figure. The easiest difference I could pick up on watching the two of them were facial expressions. Ven wore a broad, grin on his face while his eyes were lit up with excitement. Roxas, on the other hand, only wore a small smile and seemed more to himself.

The bell rang and I jumped at the shrill sound.

“Riku’s gonna kill me.” Roxas groaned and stood up as people began to file out of the classrooms.

Ven chuckled, “Was he your lab partner?? That’s hilarious.”

I stood up and tried to ignore the swarms of people filling the hall. Ven lightly put his hand on my elbow. I hadn’t expected the sudden contact and I couldn’t hold back the surge of energy that left me. Ven yelped and pulled his hand back, “Shit sorry, static.”

“You ok?” I pressed and rubbed my elbow trying to pretend like it had bothered me as well. He nodded and waved me off. I pointed to the East Wing, “So I’m gonna go to class. Nice to uh, meet you guys.”

Roxas smiled, “Nice to meet you too, [Name]. We’ll see you in training, right?”

My face paled, “Uh, yeah. Right.”

Ven gave me a grin and was about to start speaking again, but I quickly rushed away to find my next class. This was dangerous. Just like Cloud, I found it way too easy to get along with these boys. My whole goal was to stay separated, get my shit together, and slip away when the time was right. Not to make connections. Damn, Auron. He knew I wouldn’t be able to help myself once I got here.

It was easy enough to find my Senior English class and I picked a seat in the very back corner. Game face, [Name]. I just had to remind myself that the more friends I made the more dangerous it would be. This wasn’t just about me. Plus, it’d be easier to separate myself this class considering my mind was now preoccupied with this whole training business coming up as my last class.

Shit. How was I gonna get out of this? Auron said he had my back, but this was a training school. My old high school, the one from 17 years ago, had been the exact same. If I had told them I wasn’t going to train they would’ve booted me to the curb in literal seconds. Granted, I guess if I did get kicked out that would make escaping easier. Auron couldn’t hold it against me after all.

A few people who sat around me said hello and introduced themselves, and I was polite and kept it very simple. Class progressed with the teacher going over the syllabus. I didn’t pay any attention and doodled in a notebook that Auron had put into the bookbag he gave me.

Maybe I could just skip? I had already missed all my morning classes, and lunch, and my study hall. Would it hurt to miss my last class of the day too? Especially since I planned on doing absolutely nothing.

The class ended sooner than I thought it would and that was probably only because I had seriously zoned into my doodles. Well, it was decision time. To skip or not to skip. I stood up and shoved my notebook into my bag before getting ready to bolt out of this school.

“Are you, [Name]?”

I turned to see a red-haired girl in the school uniform with big, blue eyes. She was very pretty with a heart shaped face, her hair framing her features and falling past her shoulders.

“Uh, yeah? Hi.”

“I’m Kairi.” She gave me a firm smile. “Ven texted me and asked me to show you down to the gym.”

Damn. I returned her smile, trying my best to make sure it didn’t look like a grimace. I followed her out of the classroom. She cleared her throat, “So you’re Auron’s daughter? And you’re dating Cloud?”

Had Ven not clarified this? I laughed and gave her a wave, “Yes to the Auron thing, no to the Cloud thing.”

“We all figured Ven was just exaggerating.” Kairi chuckled. She led me down to the end of the hallway where there was a staircase that led down. It was mostly silent between the two of us, but I didn’t take it personal. Anytime I glanced over at her I noticed a look of concentration and… worry? There was something quite obviously on this girl’s mind that had nothing to do with me. I wasn’t going to press either because if the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t want some stranger digging into my concerns.

We got to the first floor South Wing and just like I assumed, the gym was excessive. It was huge with a high ceiling that arched up in a curve. Most of the floors were light wood, but some areas had mats and there was even an area in the far back that was covered in fake grass with some sort of obstacle course on it. It looked like there was an extra room to the far right that was separated from the gym with glass walls and I could see weight training equipment in it.

“So this is the gym!” Kairi tried to say cheerily. “Locker room is this way, if you don’t have clothes, we have a spare closet in there with extra stuff.”

“Thanks.” I followed her back to the locker rooms.

The locker room was decent sized as well and it looked like there were about twenty people in here changing out. Kairi led me to the spare locker and pulled out a shirt and shorts. She turned to me again, “Listen, I’m sorry I was kinda quiet. It’s really nice to meet you I just…”

I gave her a smirk and shrugged, “It’s fine. You got some stuff on your mind, no biggie.”

She gave me a relieved smile and handed me the clothes. I set down my stuff and sighed. Well, it’d be a little odd to skip out now. I quickly changed out and walked back into the gym. More people had filed in and it looked like about forty people were milling about stretching and talking.

“[Name]!”

I turned around just in time to see Ven rushing over with a brunet in tow. The brown haired guy had a smile that lit up his entire face. Ven pointed at him, “Hey, this is Sora. Sora, this is [Name].”

“Nice to meet you.” Sora reached forward to shake my hand and I prepared myself for the contact by pulling away any energy from my hand.

I gave him a smile and tried to hide any nervousness I felt, “Nice to meet you too.”

“It’s so cool that you’re related to Auron! He’s a really good guy.”

“No”, I corrected, “I’m actually just his adopted daughter? We’re not related, I’ve just known him a long time.”

Sora gave me a thumbs up, “Oh ok! That’s still neat though. Welcome to Destiny Islands. Do you like it so far?”

“I haven’t seen much of it, but so far I like it.” It wasn’t really a lie. The last time I was here for a decent amount of time there was nothing on these islands, and so far all I’ve seen was my old spot, the school, and Cid’s garage. “I’ve always enjoyed a nice beach.”

Sora beamed while the crowd of students around us began to spilt up into groups to focus their warm-ups, “You gotta let us show you around later! We can show you all the best spots!” His eyes drifted away from me and I followed his line of sight to Kairi who was casually talking to some other girl. “I’ll be right back, hang on.”

He jogged off toward her and Ven saddled up beside me, “Ah, young love.”

“Oh, are they dating?” I pressed. Sora had reached Kairi and began to speak, but his smile was more hesitant now. Kairi looked equally as nervous and whatever it was they were saying looked tense.

Ven shrugged, “Off and on. Last I heard she broke up with him over the summer for some reason. Kairi’s been kind of weird and distant since.”

It was weird of him to hit me with so much info since I barely knew either of them, but Ven seemed like the open kind so I didn’t take it as much of a surprise. He bumped his shoulder into mine and held his hands out.

“So, what’s your deal?”

“My deal?”

Ven nodded and led me away from where we stood to a smaller group off to the side, “Yeah, like what’s your specialty? Magic user? Elemental? Hand to hand combat? Keyblader?”

Though my attention had been on not flinching when he said ‘ _elemental’_ , it had shifted when he said ‘ _keyblader’_. Keyblader? As in, like with keyblades? The old myth and fairytale about a magical weapon that allowed people to fight against the embodiment of darkness? Maybe I was missing something. Maybe it was some form of slang that I wasn’t aware of due to the amount of time I had lost.

“Keyblader?”

“Oh, you’re a keyblader too?” Ven grinned.

I waved away his words with a shake of my head, “No, no, no. I… Well, I don’t know what you mean by that.”

He blinked in shock and confusion. Then he held out his hand and, with a flash of light and twirl of his wrist, an odd shaped blade appeared in his grip. The blade portion was a dark gunmetal gray and accents of gold. He held it backhanded and the top portion was fanned out with five spokes. A charm hung from the bottom.

What the actual fuck?

“That’s a… That’s a _keyblade_?” I breathed. I had only ever seen them in drawings from the books my parents used to read to me. Weapons of light, used in the fairytale of the ‘ _Keyblade War’,_ given to those with a destiny. They were real?

Ven nodded, “Well yeah. You’ve never seen one before?” I shook my head and lifted my hand to touch it but held back. This was apparently his weapon and the last thing I wanted to do was insult him by reaching out for it. “No, go ahead. You wanna hold it?”

He didn’t wait for me to answer and rotated his blade around for me then pushed it into my grip. The keyblade had a weird hum. It buzzed with an unfamiliar energy. The buzz suddenly spiked and began to radiate my arm, mingling with my own energy. I released the keyblade in shock, but rather than hitting the ground it disappeared only to reappear in his own hand.

“Cool, huh? I can’t believe you haven’t seen one before.”

“When did you… I mean, how did you get one?”

Ven shrugged, “Like anyone else really. One day, after I turned 13, I just had it. Wayward Wind appeared.”

“Wayward Wind?” I chuckled, “So they really are unique? Each one paired with its owner?”

Ven smirked and held up a finger before calling his brother over. Roxas had been warming up with a guy with short silver hair, but both began to walk over at the sound of Ven’s voice. He pushed himself between the two guys making the silver haired one stumble and glare at him.

“Call your keyblades, come on, come on.” Ven nudged his brother.

“Why?” Roxas questioned with a skeptical look.

I raised my hand, “He’s just trying to sate my curiosity. I haven’t seen many keyblades before.” And by many I mean none. I turned to the other guy and bobbed my head at him. “Hi, I’m [Name].”

“Riku.” He replied. He was taller than the twins by a few inches with green-blue eyes.

Roxas gave his twin a look, one that Ven replied in turn with a look of his own, before he nodded. Unlike Ven, Roxas opened both his hand and after a bright flash two keyblades appeared. TWO. I blinked and stared at the two very different keyblades.

One was dark, shades of black with a heavy, thick design. The handle had devil wings with a black crown charm. The other was the opposite. Silver with light green and white accents, nearly glowing, with angel wings handles and a star shaped charm.

“Oblivion and Oathkeeper.” Ven pointed to the dark one first.

“Holy shit.” I breathed.

“Riku and Sora have keyblades too.” Ven beamed, “But neither are as cool as ours.”

Riku narrowed his eyes at Ven and I could sense some form of rivalry though it was too early for me to tell if it was more serious or friendly. Before I could ask more questions my name was called out from somewhere behind me.

“Oh, Leon wants you. He runs training for us this year.” Roxas explained then pointed to the familiar face. It was the same guy I met in the garage yesterday.

Leon, or Squall as he introduced himself to me, waved me over. I said a quick goodbye before walking over to him. This was the moment of truth, I guess. Squall motioned to the rest of the class, “Finish personal warm-ups then give me twenty laps before breaking off into your groups.”

The class groaned before following his instructions. Squall wore something similar to yesterday, another white shirt but his jeans were replaced with a darker pair and a matching leather jacket. The look he gave me was one of slight perplexity. The look wasn’t going to get any better from here.

“Squall, right?”

He nodded, “You’re Auron’s adopted daughter.”

“That I am. I’m also _not_ dating Cloud.” I said. He raised an eyebrow at me. Squall had seen me in Cloud’s jersey yesterday and with the amount of rumors flying around I assumed he also thought what everyone else did. “Just thought I’d clarify. It was a trend today.”

Squall chuckled, but his face morphed back into one of stoicism so quickly that I could have imaged it, “This is senior training class C. A and B are in the morning, but they’re the same. The school just splits them up so it isn’t as crowded. I’m a Level 3 Institute student who was put in charge of this class. You may see other students run the class for me if I’m unable to.” He motioned to the students who were still mostly running. I caught sight of Ven and Riku who were obviously racing each other, but Ven couldn’t pass the silver haired male who was smirking as he ran. “The class breaks off into groups based off their specialty. Show me yours and I can assign you accordingly.”

“Um, funny story.” I turned my eyes back to him and offered him the nicest smile I could, “I.. don’t have one.”

“I’m sorry?”

I shook my head, “I don’t fight.”

Squall didn’t say anything for a minute. He just stared while in thought. He opened his mouth once to speak, but closed it again for a few more seconds. I again offered him a tight smile that was turning more and more into a painful expression.

“You don’t fight?”

“Nope.” I said despite the tense tone this conversation gained. “Auron understands my stance of this whole fighting thing and said he’d take care of it, but he…obviously hasn’t yet.”

Squall shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows, “This is a training academy. Students here finesse their abilities in order to move on to an institute, whether the one here or elsewhere, so they can one day be successful Agents or soldiers.”

He meant well, I knew that. His statement was valid but hearing him say ‘ _soldiers’_ like that made something snap in my brain. My grimace turned into an actual smile, borderline smirk I was sure, and I stepped toward him.

“Right. This is the school of child soldiers.” I let out a detached laugh, “Makes sense. What better way to prepare an army than to start early.” I crossed my arms and this time when I said the words there was no hesitance, “I don’t fight.”

“As in you don’t know how or you just don’t want to?” Squall pressed.

“Talk to Auron.” I shrugged and took a step back, “He’ll clear this up.”

Without waiting for another word, I walked back to the locker room. Regardless of the outcome, this would work in my favor. Either I’d get kicked out and it’d be an easy way to separate myself further or Auron would take me out of training and I wouldn’t have to worry about this again.

As of right now though, my school day was done.

**++++**

The café we sat at was cute. The building was a tan color, one of the only neutral tones on this street, but the umbrellas sitting over the metal tables out on the porch were all bright shades of red, blue, green, and orange. People walked the street chatting with one another, it created a pleasant buzz in the air that brought a small smile to my face. Match that lively buzz with the tang of salt hanging on the ocean breeze and I truly was in paradise.

I turned to look back at the grown man sitting in front of me. Cid didn’t just look older, he _felt_ older. He had this aura about him. There was no doubt he was still the same cocky, charming pilot I had come to know, but it was buried a bit deeper than it used to be. His hand went up to his shirt pocket, where I could see his box of cigarettes, but he stopped abruptly halfway and grabbed his coffee instead. Cid cleared his throat.

“So uh, how— how was school?” I couldn’t hold back the laugh that erupted from me. He gave me a quizzical glance, but it morphed into one of soft amusement. Cid shook his head, “You damn near gave Auron a heart attack this morning, you know?”

My laughter slowly died down, but my smile remained, “Yeah, yeah. I know. We talked it out.”

“Y’all always do in the end.” Cid mumbled. His smile was strained for only a second, but he smothered it out with a quick sip of his drink, “I heard his side of the argument. What was yours?”

I leaned back in my seat, keeping my hands around the coldness of my iced coffee, “I told him that I don’t want to fight.” Cid seemed surprised by this. I guess Auron didn’t have the time to stop by his garage and tell him the news himself. “The thought of it just— I don’t know it makes me… _nervous_.” I admitted and pulled my hands away from my drink slightly to play with my fingers, letting some of my nervous energy bounce from fingertip to fingertip in the form of sparks. “I never felt that way about it before, and it was such a _huge_ part of who I was—who I _am_? I don’t know.”

“I’m glad.” Cid replied firmly. His eyes focused on my fingers.

“You are?” I pressed. I hadn’t expected that. Auron and Cid had grown up with this life of fighting as much as I had, they were just like me and I couldn’t imagine them giving it up.

Cid quickly lifted his hand and set it on top of mine. I feared one of my sparks had got him, but he showed no outward pain. Rather, he gave me a soft look, “I’ve seen what the war did to you. I see… I see the outcome of what the past _17 years_ have done to you.”

I’m not sure what I must have looked like, but Cid’s grip on my hands tightened reassuringly.

“I was nervous about this too.” I motioned to his hands. “When I first came back, I didn’t like being touched. Not even by Auron. It was like… It was like my body was _afraid_. I knew Auron wasn’t going to hurt me, Cloud either. Not like _he_ did. Still, I was scared.” I flipped my hand so I could hold Cid’s. I gave him a squeeze of my own. His palms were still calloused and hard. If I closed my eyes it might feel like 17 years ago. “Maybe this will be like that. Maybe one day I’ll wake up and want to fight again. I’m not sure I even know how to be someone who doesn’t.”

Cid shook his head, “Fighting doesn’t define you. That isn’t who you are, doll. It’s just what you used to do.”

“Isn’t it funny?” I let out a chuckle, “I left my sword in the Thunder Plains, talked this big talk to Auron, got in an argument with Squall about it today in school” Cid gave me a raised eyebrow at this, “and still deep down I’m not sure I can actually do it.”

“You’re more than a solider, [Name].” Cid shook his head, “You _can_ move on. We support you.” I gave him a tight-lipped smile and squeezed his hand one last time before pulling away to grab my drink. He leaned back in his seat. “So what was this about arguing with Leonhart?”

His question reminded me of that class period. I slammed by drink down, “Forget _his_ grumpy ass! What the _hell_ is up with these _keyblades_???”

Cid barked out a laugh, “Oh yeah, I forgot you weren’t around when those started popping up. Weird shit, huh?”

“I thought those were just a _myth_.” I breathed, “Some old legend from ancient days. Mom and Dad always talked about the Keyblade War like it was a fairytale and today I watch some guy whip his out like it’s _nothing_??”

Cid nodded, “Yeah, you get used to that. They started popping up about…hm, well about 17 years ago actually. You just missed them.”

I scoffed, “Those would’ve been pretty damn helpful back then.”

Cid and I talked for a few minutes more before he paid for the drinks and we began to walk down the street. He motioned around him, “This area is kind of the shopping distract. All the shops here are mostly clothes and shoes and all that shit.” I chuckled at his words. “Auron said you need some stuff.”

“I need _everything_.” I pointed to my school uniform, “Other than this, all I have is Cloud’s football jersey and I need to apparently return that.”

Cid led me down a few more steps before he stopped in front of a small shop. It’s walls were a light blue, but the front was mostly made of windows anyways. I could see various women inside sitting in salon chairs getting their hair done.

I narrowed my eyes at him, “Are you trying to tell me something, Cid?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to tell you that it looks like your hair was cut by a _lawnmower_.”

“Oh ha ha.” I scoffed but walked toward the salon anyways, “You know this is a form of emotional abuse. I’m _sensitive_.”

Cid laughed and opened the door for me to go in, “Doll, the last word I’d use to describe you is sensitive.”

“Fair enough.” I mumbled and stepped in. The salon was cute and bubbly music was playing loudly. He wasn’t wrong. It would be nice to get my hair done by a professional. The janky scissors I had used weren’t exactly high quality and cuts I made were sloppy at best.

“Well if I live and breathe, is that Cid Highwind?”

Cid rolled his eyes, but I let my gaze wander over to the lady who was sauntering toward us. She was short and curvy with bubble gum pink hair that was curled up into an intricate updo. Her skin was dark and lovely with a bright smile that lit up her features.

“Heya Rose. You busy today?” Cid questioned. “I got you a new customer.”

He jabbed a thumb at me and when Rose’s dark eyes glanced over at me, I offered her a smile and wave. Her eyes widened and she came over to lightly touch the ends of my hair, I tried my hardest not to flinch at the close proximity of this stranger. She seemed pleasant enough.

“Oh _honey_ , what happened? Make a hairdresser mad?”

“No, I did this. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I needed change and I, uh, was going through some stuff.” I replied sheepishly.

She waved off my words and started pushing me towards a plush black chair, “Say no more. _Hair therapy_. When I found out my ex was cheating on me I dyed all my hair blue then shaved the right side of my head.”

I pointed at her pink hair through the mirror before she tossed a cape over me, “What made you choose pink?”

“Oh this?” She fluffed her hair and winked, “This was a ‘ _good news’_ kinda job.”

I chuckled. She was fun and friendly. Maybe her attitude would relax me some. I needed that since she was about to be holding scissors very close to some very vital vessels in my neck. Cid cleared his throat before pointing to the exit. Rose strode over to him and they talked for a few more seconds before he left. He was probably going to smoke.

“So how do you know Cid?” I asked.

Rose took out a spray bottle and began to wet my hair, “Oh me and that grump go _way_ back. I knew him when I lived in Radiant Gardens.”

My eyes widened as she worked. Radiant Gardens? Oh shit. Oh shit. She was Cid’s age too, did I _know_ this woman? I tried to recognize her features, but nothing seemed familiar. Plus, Cid would’ve warned me wouldn’t he?

She took my widened eyes as something else, “Oh sorry, you probably only know it as Hollow Bastion. I moved there about 16 years ago. It was before they changed the name.”

Oh, thank God.

Rose didn’t ask what I wanted with my hair, but I figured that was because this was mostly just a repair job and there wasn’t much she could do with the hack job I created. She nodded and began to fill the silence with her own voice, “Yupp, I’ve known Cid a good while. In fact, I was even invited to his wedding. He won’t admit it, but we’re good friends.”

“Wait, _married_!?” I cried and it was a good thing she hadn’t grabbed scissors yet from the way I jerked my head to look at her.

Rose just corrected my head position with her hands, “Mhmm. You didn’t know? I guess that makes sense he doesn’t talk about her much. Hmm, when was this? Maybe 15 years ago? I had only been in town a year and it was a year before they changed the name so yes! Yes, it was 15 years ago. She was _such_ a precious little thing.”

Cid hadn’t even been dating when I left on my final mission. Hell, he hadn’t even shown interest in any girls. Had this been someone he met after I left? That didn’t seem to add up though. Cid had never been big on sudden life decisions and I always assumed he’d have to know a girl for years before ever considering marrying her.

“What was her name??” Rose shook her head and grabbed the scissors. I made a mental note not to move. “She had been a local girl too I think.”

That was when a name suddenly entered my mind.

“ _Shera_.” I breathed in shock.

“Yes! Yes! It was Shera!” Rose cried and began to snip at my hair, “She was such a pretty young thing. Tragic her passing.”

Shera had been a girl in our town. I never knew her well. We ran in different circles. She was a smart girl in the ‘ _normal, graduate high school’_ circles and I was a dumbass who ran in the ‘ _life-threatening, soldier, throw yourself into deadly portals’_ circles. It made sense. I recalled a time when I knew the girl had a crush on Cid, I had teased him once upon a time in a life long, long ago, but he never returned those feelings. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say never. He married her after all, but…

“She passed?” I asked softly.

Rose nodded, “She did. Real sad story.”

She didn’t elaborate and I didn’t want her to. If Cid hadn’t even mentioned to me that he was married, I didn’t want to pry without his knowing that I knew. I thought back to his new ship. The name written in bright red. That explained that.

Rose prattled on about various other things in the area, but I had really zoned out now. She didn’t seem to mind this though. Fifteen minutes later, she was blow drying the last of the wetness from my hair before spinning my chair around to the mirror, “Ta-da!”

She had cut my hair a little bit shorter, it only fell below my chin slightly and nipped at the base of my neck, but she had turned the uneven cuts into a styled, choppy look. She had also given me side bangs on either side that were light and brushed the tops of my eyebrows.

“Wow, I love it.”

Rose squealed, “Good! Now, next time you have a crisis come to me and we’ll go through it together. I got all sorts of dyes and tricks for some good old-fashioned hair therapy.”

I nodded, “I promise I will.”

Rose played with my hair for a few more minutes before Cid came back over. He nodded once at the hair with his lips pressed together. Rose scoffed and slapped his arms making his eyes widen, “That’s all you’re gonna do?? Nod at her??”

“Your hair looks nice.” Cid said quickly before mumbling something under his breath. I chuckled and stood up. The nod had been enough for me, I knew what Cid was like. Sometimes a nod was big praise from the pilot.

I thanked Rose again, letting her hug me, then Cid paid, and we stepped back into the sunlit street. He led me to another shop where I could pick up some clothes while also saying something about Auron. I stared at his form. He smelled lightly of cigarettes now, but I couldn’t even bring myself to nag him about it. All I could think about was him and Shera.

“You good, doll?”

I snapped out of my thoughts to see his gaze on me. That’s what the difference was. That was what I could sense about him now. He was still the Cid I knew, cocky and brash and loyal, but he was sad. He was a man who had seen suffering and pain. The war and life itself had left its mark on him, and I hadn’t been there to help him out.

“I... Yeah, I’m good.” I brushed my bangs back some before folding myself into his side. He seemed surprised at the motion, but wrapped his arm around me, nonetheless. My pilot wouldn’t face anything alone anymore, not if I had anything to say about it.


	5. nine to ten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I don't need anyone,
> 
> I don't need anyone,
> 
> I just need everyone and then some."
> 
> -Halsey (Clementine)

**++++**

“Yeah, Ma, it went really well, I think. I feel good about it at least.” Cloud chuckled into the ship’s phone. He had forgotten his phone charger and his cell had died pretty shortly after he finished his test. Cloud had managed to shoot a text out to his brothers one last time letting them know he was done and heading home, but then the battery had crapped out.

He wasn’t able to text his mom, but after leaving the world his testing had been on and being on the ship for the past few hours, it was now officially time for her to be clocking out of work. Luckily, the ship’s phone wasn’t too expensive.

“I’m about thirty minutes out from Destiny Islands. I’ll be home in time to make sure the brats don’t starve tonight.”

Cloud listened to his mom complain about some of her worse patients until the pilot called for all passengers to return to their seats. He quickly said his goodbyes and followed instructions. The landing was easy and most of the traveling crowd had dispersed some time yesterday. It only took him another ten minutes to find a trolley and get back into town.

The house, upon his return was empty, but it was only 3:30 in the afternoon. Classes may have ended, but Ven and Roxas didn’t usually get home until later. They’d hang around campus which is what he’d be doing if he had gone to the Institute today.

Cloud plugged his phone into the wall and walked into the kitchen. The fridge and the cabinets were still bare. Had Roxas not gone and got groceries yet? He should do so now, but no part of him had any interest in going into town right now. Maybe they’d call in a pizza or something.

His phone chimed back to life and he wandered over to it after grabbing one of the last apples in the fridge. Cloud bit into a bruised part and cringed in disgust.

_’37 unread texts’_

_‘3 missed calls’_

Cloud blinked at his phone screen then raised an eyebrow at it. What the hell? He picked it up and swiped it open. Nearly every person he knew had sent at least one message during the time his phone had been dead. He opened the group chat lovingly titled _‘Institute Bitchez’_ by Yuffie. The last messages he had seen in the group were well wishes for his test.

The rest of the group chat was filled with Yuffie yelling at Leon not to change the group name since he had already deleted the group chat’s picture, which had been a picture Yuffie caught of him flipping her off. Plus, something else about one of the classes having a shitty teacher that Zack was already sick of.

“Wait.” Cloud mumbled to himself. “I’m dating someone?”

Realization suddenly dawned on him.

“Damn it, Ventus.”

One of the missed calls had been from Leon so Cloud sat at the kitchen bar and dialed his friend’s number. It rang twice before he picked up.

“Hey, how was your test?”

“It was pretty good.” Cloud replied, “But hey, what is up with the texts about me dating? Is this about-”

Leon cut him off, “Yeah it’s about this [Name] girl. We need to talk. Meet at the usual place?”

Cloud blinked in surprise. He had known Leon for a very long time, and due to this he recognized the tone in his friend’s voice. Something was bothering him. He agreed and changed into something more casual before heading to the on-campus coffee shop. Leon was already there sitting at the table him and his friends usually took up. A part of him had thought that maybe the others would be there too, but it was just Leon by his lonesome. This only confirmed Cloud’s thoughts that this was a serious thing.

He sat down at the same time Leon’s name got called out. Cloud turned, but Leon motioned him to stay as he went to grab the drinks. Cloud pulled out his still dying phone to check some more messages. The last few messages he hadn’t checked was from his brothers.

If she left, where did she go? Was she with Auron? Leon came back around this time so he put his phone to sleep and took the coffee Leon offered him, “Thanks, man.”

“Consider it a congrats for finishing your test.” Leon sat down while taking a sip from his own drink. Leon glanced at his phone when something came through, but he ignored whatever was sent to him.

Cloud leaned back in his seat, he glanced around but none of the other students in here he was close with, “So what’s up? I’m not dating [Name] by the way. Regardless of what Ven or Yuffie said.”

“I only had doubts for a few minutes.” Leon replied, “But then again if you had told me what was going on with the girl in your _lucky jersey_ when I texted you about it yesterday the texts could’ve been avoided.”

Cloud chuckled. He had ignored the probing texts in order to study, plus he hadn’t been quite ready to talk about [Name] yet. He nodded once, “You got me there.”

“Who is she?” Leon pressed.

Cloud hesitated. He knew there was no way in hell Auron and [Name] were going to tell everyone the real story, Auron had been very clear about the secrecy of all this, but he still didn’t know the public story. At this point all he knew was [Name] started school today technically but was barely there.

While Cloud lulled all this over Leon spoke up again, “She shows up as Auron’s adopted daughter, she’s wearing _your_ jersey”, If he had known people were going to make this big a deal of the jersey thing he would’ve given her a different shirt, “And just twenty minutes ago I had Auron Braska asking me for a _personal_ _favor_. Auron doesn’t ask for personal favors.”

“That’s not necessarily true-”

“He asked me to keep [Name] on the roster for training, but not to actively train her.” Leon interrupted him. Cloud raised an eyebrow, this was news to him, but Leon kept going, “I ask her what her specialty is, and she tells me she _doesn’t_ fight? And then when I bring this up to Auron he tells me not to tell anyone on the Board of Administration about this?”

Ok, so that did sound fairly sketchy. Cloud took a long sip of his coffee. Obviously [Name] didn’t want to train. He wasn’t sure of the exact reason why, but if he had to guess it had to do with the fact that she spent the last 17 years as a punching bag for a sadistic fuck.

“Cloud.” Leon said firmly. He leaned onto the table slightly, ignoring another chime of his phone, “ _Who is she_?”

“She’s just another girl, Leon.”

Leon shook his head, “No. She’s not. Auron wouldn’t be jumping through hoops like this for just some girl, and there’s something about her… something is _off_.”

“What do you mean?”

“We argued about her fighting. She got this look in her eye, this confidence?” Leon struggled for words. He rubbed the side of his face, “I don’t know what it is, but I get a strange vibe about her. She feels… _dangerous_.”

She could be dangerous. Cloud agreed with that wholeheartedly. At the same time though, he knew at the end of the day she wasn’t. She was a powerful elemental, one of the most powerful he had ever seen, and that role had been previously given to Axel. He also knew though that she was fun. She liked to dance in place while she waited for her popcorn to finish microwaving. She spent nearly an hour looking and giggling over the emojis and photo filters she found on her phone.

[Name] was a good person to her core.

Cloud prided himself on being a very good judge of character, but so did Leon. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at his phone when a notification alerted him to a new message.

_‘No idea where she went.’_ Roxas replied.

“Leon”, Cloud looked back up at his friend, “Do you trust me?”

Leon gave him a deadpanned look, but Cloud didn’t relent. Finally he sighed, “Yes. You know I do.”

“She’s a good person, and she needs our help. I trust Auron. You should too.” Cloud said firmly. Leon thought over this for a moment before nodding in agreement. “Thanks, I really appreciate this.”

Leon leaned back in his seat, “So what should I have her do then? Sit in the locker room? Extra study hall?”

“People always complain that training the seniors suck.” Cloud shrugged, “Use her as an aid. She can help you out with the little stuff.”

“Yeah, maybe.” He picked up his phone and answered the messages he had been ignoring. Seconds later something hit him in the back forcing an exhale of air out his chest followed by a high-pitched squeal. “Oh right, Yuffie is here by the way.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” Cloud forced out as Yuffie squeezed his neck.

Yuffie let him go only to grab the seat by him, “Look at the newest Magic and Meds student!! _Annnnd_ the newly taken, Mr. Strife! Show me a picture of her _right now_. I need to see what my new best friend looks like.”

Cloud chuckled, “I’m not dating anyone, Yuffie.”

He stood up when he noticed the others coming in and met Tifa halfway to return the hug she was already coming in for. She kept the hug quick, “Congrats on your test! When do you find out if you’ve been accepted?”

“A few days. They’ll call me.”

Tifa sat down by Leon and both her and Yuffie began to ask him question after question about the test and [Name]. He answered any question they had with ease, being more vague with the [Name] stuff, but it was nice to finally relax.

**++++**

“Remember you have regular classes today, but tomorrow morning you have homeroom first. From then on-”

I was leaning against the palm of my hand, sunglasses on, and food untouched, “From then on homeroom is only on Mondays. Yeah, I can listen to a morning announcement, Auron.”

Auron and Cid were sitting across from me at the small café on the school’s campus. It was Thursday morning and I was not ready for school. Trying to be antisocial was hard. Trying to be antisocial with the people on this island was damn near impossible. I still hadn’t talked to Cloud since he got back three days ago. Well, he’d text me here and again, but I kept my answers short and used to excuses anytime he tried to meet up. His brothers on the other hand were harder to shake. Ven had been basically glued to me this week. Despite me trying to keep to myself, he refused to take a hint. I wondered if Cloud had anything to do with that.

“Teenagers. So _moody_.” Cid said and I let my sunglasses fall down the bridge of my nose so I could glare at him. He only smirked back at me smugly. Cid scooped up his to-go cup and walked in the direction of the garage.

Auron stood as well, “I can walk you to class?”

“It’s fine. I promise I’ll go.” I replied. He chuckled and rested his hand on the top of my head briefly as he passed.

I played with my food for a couple more seconds before leaning back in my seat with a sigh. Auron had been right. I needed friends. More than that, I knew exactly who I wanted to be friends with. Ven and Roxas were so much fun to be around, especially when they playfully bickered with one another. Sora was an absolute ray of sunshine that I was sick and tired of trying to avoid. Riku was a complete and total smartass that I wanted to get to know better. Speaking of people I wanted to get to know better, Kairi seemed like someone I’d really get along with. Plus, I was curious as to her story, maybe I could even delve into whatever was bothering her and try to help. I wanted to stop being curt to the girl named Namine who was my lab partner in science and an absolute angel. I missed talking to Cloud.

All of these feelings though, the melancholy that sat in my gut, was necessary. These people were amazing, and I refused to let my past hurt them. If, God forbid, Jax came back...

My hands sparked against the table and I took this as a sign to head to class. Auron had left cash on the table for the waitress so I just grabbed my bookbag and went on my way. The café was closer to the Institute than the Academy so I’d have to walk a bit to get to class, and that left ample opportunity to be spotted and talked to. Maybe if I just kept my head down—

“Hey [Name]!”

Really? Like honest to God, really??

I paused mid step and glanced over my shoulder to see Roxas waving at me. He stood by a bench with two people I didn’t recognize. I went to wave back, to keep this curt, but he waved me over. Damn it.

“Hey Roxas.” I called out and came closer. When I was a few steps away that’s when the pulse of an elemental hit me. All Elementals had a unique pulse but depending on the person it could be controlled. For example, I was trained to keep my pulse close. So close that it couldn’t even be detected unless I let them. This guy, however, was radiating his out as far as he could. It told me he didn’t care who knew he was an Elemental, and more than that it told me he was a _Fire_ _Elemental_. My eyes shot to the source. He stood tall next to Roxas with a lanky figure clothed in a baggy dark green plaid shirt, short sleeved jacket, and dark ripped skinny jeans. His bright green eyes looked amused, and the top portion of his red hair was tied back in a man bun.

He was a Fire Elemental in every sense of the word.

“Morning!” Roxas clapped me on the shoulder, “You haven’t met Axel or Xion yet, have you?”

“No.” I forced the word through clenched teeth. He introduced them both and being so distracted by the Elemental I nearly didn’t notice the short black-haired girl on the other side of him. She was cute with black bobbed hair and wide blue eyes. Her skin was on the pale side, but unlike Axel she wore the school uniform like us. I nodded at them, “[Name].”

Axel smirked, “I’ve heard a lot about you. You’ve been the most popular rumor this week.”

“Joy.” I replied and forced my gaze to Xion, “Are you in our grade?”

“No, I’m just a junior! That’s probably why you haven’t seen me around.” Xion shrugged, “I think you know my cousins though?” I raised an eyebrow at her, and she continued, “Kairi and Namine.”

My eyes widened, “Oh. Yeah, I do, but I didn’t know you guys were cousins.”

Xion rubbed the back of her head, “Yeah, our moms were all sisters, but we grew up together. Our grandma took us all in.”

That seemed like an interesting story, but not one I would press further since it was the first time, I met her. Plus, I had no interest in standing in this circle any longer. To think, I had been kind of excited to meet another Elemental. They just _had_ to be a Fire Elemental. That was just my fucking luck.

Roxas nudged me, “Axel is a Level 1 Institute student. That’s why you haven’t seen him around.”

Xion was saying something, but my attention was drawn away to the burning hatred in the center of my chest. As if I wasn’t on edge enough this moment. The energy of a fire elemental was the most brash of any Elemental. It was dominating and loud. Boisterous. It was an energy one didn’t soon forget regardless if you wanted to remember or not. That’s what everyone said, at least. Up to now, I had only known one other fire elemental and so far, the judgement rang true.

“Damn it, Axel, will you _stop_??” Roxas snapped and my attention returned to the moment. Roxas and Xion were both fanning themselves and it looked like a sweat had broken out across their foreheads. “Do you have to do that _every time_ you meet someone new?”

“And why so hot this time?” Xion loosened her tie.

I glanced over at Axel who was staring at me quizzically. He nodded his head toward me, “She wasn’t sweating or complaining.”

Roxas and Xion both looked at me at his words and I raised a hand to start fanning at my unbothered face. I forced a smile at them, “I just thought that’s what the temperature was like here. I didn’t wanna be the new girl complaining about heat that you guys are already used to.”

Xion laughed, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been here years and I’m _still_ not used to it.” She shot her red-haired friend a light glare, hands on her hips, “Especially when some _idiot_ cranks the heat up.”

“Just can’t help myself.” Axel shrugged, but he wouldn’t stop staring at me.

To be honest, I hadn’t noticed the heat rising until Axel had pulled it back. That was the thing about elementals. All elementals were connected in some way, that’s what the belief was. All elementals had a unique energy for their type and that energy always had a pair that it clashed with and another that it matched with. For example, my energy negatively affected the energy of a Water Elemental just like an Earth Elemental negatively affected mine.

My match though? Fire. Unfortunately, our energies were aligned. A Fire Elemental could feed off my energy and I could feed off theirs. We made each other stronger.

When you lived with lightning on your skin, heat was _never_ an issue.

“I should get to class. It was great meeting you, Xion.” I gave her a smile and then let my gaze drift to Axel. “Axel.”

Xion gave me a pretty smile, while Axel just tilted his head at me. I began to walk away, but before I got very far Roxas was by my side. He had readjusted his tie from where he loosened it, “So Axel is kind of a character.”

“He’s a Fire Elemental, huh?”

Roxas chuckled, “Yeah, and he isn’t afraid to show it at all. Listen, I know you weren’t obviously impressed with his little trick”, I opened my mouth to argue but he shook his head at me, “It’s fine. I think he’s the only one that _does_ like that trick.”

“Really, it’s whatever. Just some dumb prank, right?”

“I just don’t want you to get the wrong impression of him is all.” Roxas stuffed his hands into his pants pockets as he walked. “He has a reputation of being kind of… well, kind of an asshole. People assume he’s some slick player that uses others to get ahead and that he uses his charm to get what he wants.”

I slipped off my glasses as we got into the school. The halls were busy as we walked through the sophomore hallway to get to the staircase. I shrugged, “He gives off that energy, no offense.”

“You’re right, he does. His vibe is definitely one of a total douche bag.” Roxas gave me a grin and I bit back a laugh at his words. Roxas continued, “But the truth about Axel is that he is absolutely, without a doubt, the biggest dork on any world you can think of.”

“Him?” I pressed as we reached the third floor. I found it hard to believe that a Fire Elemental could be anything other than selfish, cruel, or manipulative.

Roxas nodded, “It’s true. Most people learn that as they go, but I figured I’d let you in on the secret early.”

“Well, I appreciate that.”

My first class of the day was History, but we had come up into the West Wing, so I had to walk across the school to get there. Roxas stuck with me since he had Math first and his class was closer to the middle of the school.

“So hey, Ven was gonna tell you about it, but I guess I’m catching you first.” Roxas paused outside his class and I stopped with him. “This weekend we’re going to the North side of the island for this camping beach trip thing we do. It’s kind of tradition. It’ll be fun, you should join.”

I nodded once, “I’ll think about it.”

Next time someone asked I’d use an excuse like _‘I need some bonding time with Auron’_ or some bullshit answer like that. Plus, if all of them were gone on some camping trip this weekend then that’d give me free reign of the town without having to worry about running into one of them. That’d be nice.

Before I could turn and leave him Sora came bounding up with a grin. I wasn’t sure how he managed to be so happy and bubbly this early in the morning, but I commended him for it. As if even possible, his smile grew at the sight of me, “Hey, [Name]! I’m glad I caught you this morning.” He handed the cup in his left hand to Roxas who thanked him and began to chug. He offered me the cup in his right hand, “Here’s a coffee! I work at the café in the morning before school starts and I always leave with extra drinks.”

Saying no to Sora was a lot like knocking candy out of a toddler’s hand. It made one feel dirty and nasty deep inside. Still, I needed to draw lines. I needed to end these budding relationships before they got the wrong idea. We could not be friends.

“Sorry, I don’t like coffee.” I lied before turning to head to my first class.

God, I was a trash human being.

**++++**

Cloud didn’t plan on skipping class today, he really didn’t, but when Roxas texted him that [Name] was still distant and seemed even more off today than past days he knew it was time to actually take action. She had kept any and all messages with him simple and brief, and she found a different excuse anytime he invited her out for coffee or to just meet up.

So, all of this added up to him leaving campus to head to the garage. He could’ve gone to see Auron in his office, but something told him that wasn’t going to give him the type of action he wanted. Over the summer, Cloud had seen how Auron acted around [Name]. The older man always had her best interest at heart, but he also seemed hesitant to push her too far. He’d put her on the right track, but he was all about letting her go at her own pace.

Cloud didn’t think the pace she was going at was healthy. In fact, she wasn’t making progress at all it almost felt like she was going backwards.

Cid Highwind though, he was an old friend and he seemed like the kind of friend that could point Cloud in the right direction. Luckily, the garage wasn’t very busy this morning which meant Cid might not bite his head off for interrupting whatever he was doing. He mentally went over the points he wanted to talk about in his head as he glanced around.

“ _Strife_!” The barking voice sent all thoughts out of his head. He turned to see Cid leaning against the railing above him. “What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about something though.” He replied. “Got a minute?”

Cid shrugged and motioned for him to come up. Cloud hiked up the rusty stairs, careful not to place his foot on the seventh which he knew would give way from personal experience. Once he got to the top Cid nodded at him, “Congrats. I hear you got into Magic and Meds.”

Cloud chuckled, “I did. Classes start next week. I’m psyched.”

“Good. It’ll be a tough one. Can’t be skipping _that_ class.” Cid said, leaving his arms resting against the metal railing, “Now what’d you need?”

“[Name].” Cloud said and watched as the mechanic stiffened. That wasn’t a good sign. He pressed onward regardless, “She’s been distant since she got here. I keep trying to get her to talk to me, and I have Ven and Roxas at school making sure she doesn’t isolate herself too much but-”

Cid interrupted him, “That’s none of your concern. Go back to class.”

“Cid, I just want to make sure she’s alright.”

“Why do you care?”

His voice was sharp. He should’ve known how protective Cid would be of her. Cloud dug through his thoughts trying to find an answer to the question. It was a simple one, but he hadn’t spent the time trying to make sense of it in his head.

“I… I don’t know, Cid.” Cloud admitted, “I can’t explain it.”

“Well that ain’t good enough, Strife.” Cid scoffed and walked past Cloud into his office.

Cloud saw his chance slipping away and chased after the man before he could slam the door and shut him out entirely. Cid shot him a glare, but Cloud stepped into the office regardless. He shut the door behind him.

“Wait, just— _wait_.” Cloud demanded and his tone was apparently enough to make Cid pause. The mechanic sat down on his office chair and reached for the cigarette behind his ear. He lit it and motioned for Cloud to continue. Cloud took in a sharp breath, ignoring the tang of smoke on his tongue, “I was _there_. I was there when Merlin and Auron pulled her out of that portal.” Cid took another long drag at his words. “She was healthy then, no wound in sight, and I remember… I remember feeling almost _disappointed_. I was there to practice white magic and she didn’t even need me.”

Cid shook his head and leaned forward on his elbows, “I should’ve been there.”

“Did Auron tell you about the first few weeks?”

“He told me it was bad.” Cid replied gravely. “He said she was _really_ bad.”

Cloud nodded, “I used to check up on her at night, while she slept. Auron said he didn’t want me to stress her out further, so he wanted me out of sight. It made sense, the first time she saw me she tried to put a pen into my carotid.” Cloud rubbed at his neck with a smile and Cid chuckled in amusement. “I didn’t really talk to her at all until the end of the first week, but… she used to get nightmares. From the moment she got back, every time she closed her eyes, she had a nightmare. The kind she wouldn’t even wake up from. Her mind would just make her suffer through it.”

“Fuck.” Cid breathed.

“Yeah. That was my thought exactly. The nightmares… they were _bad_. There wasn’t a spot in the house where you couldn’t hear her crying or _screaming_. It was—it was _awful_. By the third night, I couldn’t handle it anymore.” Cloud shook his head slowly, the sounds of her screaming and the memory of her thrashing in bed, tears leaking from her eyes, filled his mind and he tried to push them away again. “Ven used to get really bad nightmares as a kid. We never knew why, or where they came from, Roxas never had that problem, but Ven would just… Mom knows this spell. It’s to take away dreams and nightmares, leave you with a restful night sleep. She’d whisper it to him every night for months until they went away on their own. So, I used the spell on her.” This was the first time he had admitted it aloud. Auron probably knew, but he never mentioned it. “I know I should’ve asked permission first, medical consent and all that, but I was afraid she’d say no because she didn’t know me or because she was wary of my intentions.”

Cid cut in when he paused, “What were your intentions?”

Cloud sucked in a breath, “I just wanted to do _good_. I didn’t want her to suffer. I didn’t know her then, but nobody deserves what she had to go through.” He stuck his hands into his pockets, “[Name] still doesn’t know I did it. I guess she assumed the nightmares went away on their own.”

“How long did you do this?”

Cloud chuckled then pressed his lips together briefly, “Every night for a little over a month. After that they did start to fade away on their own.” Cid didn’t reply to this and Cloud forced himself a step forward. “Look, I know I don’t know her like you and Auron, ok? Hell, I’ve really only known her a few months now, but that doesn’t change how I feel. She’s my _friend_. I care about her well-being, and I am _not_ going to let her pull away and regress. She’s come too far. My last days at that cabin she had life in her eyes, she was happy or at least trying to be, and I _refuse_ to let her not be happy here.”

Cid leaned back in his seat and didn’t say anything for a while. Then, still without saying a word, he rose from his chair and crossed his office. There was a black, metal safe in the corner. It was the kind with a spin lock rather than electronic. Cid opened it up and pulled out a small, dark green box out from the safe before coming back over.

“Give these to her.”

“What are they?” Cloud asked as the box was pushed into his hands. He flipped the lid open to reveal various gold rings and a few bracelets. “Why don’t you give these to her yourself?”

Cid chuckled and snuffed out his cigarette, “I was gonna eventually. Kinda working my way up to it, but… I think they should come from you.”

“Why?”

“I have a hunch of what’s going on.” Cid sat back down, “She doesn’t want to fight anymore, and I think that’s good for her, but she still needs these. I think it’ll offer her at least some comfort.”

Cloud furrowed his eyebrows, “Jewelry is going to help her?”

“Will you just trust me, Strife?” Cid scoffed before pulling out his phone. Cloud watched him send out a text before tossing his phone aside, “Meet her for lunch at the café on campus. The one with the second story patio, it’s her favorite so far.”

Cloud smiled, “She’s expecting you, right?”

“Yupp, so at least now you know she’ll show.”

“Thanks, Cid.” Cloud lifted the box slightly.

The mechanic pointed at him, “Don’t fuck this up, Strife. She needs… She needs _you_ right now. She just doesn’t know it.”

**++++**

“So do you want to join me and some others for lunch? They’re serving mac and cheese today and it’s surprisingly amazing.” Namine chirped as we cleaned up the science lab bench. The class had been pretty easy today, and the two of us wrapped up very quickly. Plus, it helped that Namine was super smart and a good worker.

I wiped down my side of the table, “Thanks, but Cid wants to meet me for lunch so I’m gonna leave school for it.”

“Oh, well that sounds fun too!” Namine said sincerely. She had asked me to join her and her friends for lunch every single day this week so far, and I had found an excuse for it nearly every time. In fact, I had only gone to lunch with them once this week, on Tuesday, and it had been fun. It had been _too_ fun. “Maybe tomorrow? You gotta stay in school for lunch then. They serve pizza.”

The bell rang ending the conversation for me. I gave her a firm smile before grabbing my bag and rushing out. Luckily, I managed to get out of the room and down the hall before the crowds got too dense, but the campus was always crazy during lunch. It was a mix of the Academy and Institute students mingling or rushing to local cafes and coffee shops.

On campus was one small café that I had already claimed as my favorite which is why Cid and Auron took me there this morning for breakfast. The fact that Cid also wanted to meet there for lunch meant that he had something to ask me. I had already figured out that they took me there to put me in a good mood before talking about anything I didn’t want to talk about. So even though I wasn’t too excited about whatever he had in store, the good news was I’d get an good, free meal out of it.

I was a woman of simple pleasures.

“New girl.” The words greeted me at the same time a warm pulse of energy did. I stiffened at the pulse. It was smaller than it had been this morning, like he was restricting it more, but nothing could hide that flame. “Hey, wait up.”

Axel jogged up from behind me and slid into my path forcing me to stop to prevent running into him. He seemed to be in a good mood, grin on his features and light in his eyes. I tried not to look to upset at his presence, “Yeah?”

“Roxas said I should apologize for this morning.” He shrugged. Axel crossed his arms and smirked, “Apparently, you’re on edge about some shit so I’m _supposed_ to walk on eggshells around you.”

Wow, had Roxas said that? That was astute of him, I guess, but then again, I hadn’t exactly been subtle about my actions.

I narrowed my eyes at him, “That’s kind of a shitty apology, you know?”

Axel shrugged, “You don’t peg me as the sensitive kind. Figured the apology wasn’t actually warranted.”

“And what do you know about me?” I scoffed and tried to slide around him.

Stupid, confident Fire Elemental.

“I pride myself on being good at reading energies, both of other Elementals and even normal humans like you. Comes with the whole ‘ _Elemental’_ territory.” Axel replied blocking my path again. His words made me clench my jaw in worry. In response, I pulled my already skintight pulse even closer to me. “Now, you’re one of the more difficult ones to read for some reason, but I’m not gonna let that deter me.”

I started to walk back onto the path I was going, but he just followed along with his long legs. My quick stride was nothing to him. I shot him a small glare, “Maybe you should.”

“Nah. I’m not the quitting kind.” Axel chuckled. “As hard as you are to read, it kinda feels like your kinda trouble matches mine.” He shot me another smirk, “You seem like the reckless fun type, and I respect that kind of energy.”

It was a simple statement, but it was too similar to one I had heard before.

**_‘Fuck the consequences, the best kind of fun is the reckless kind.’_ **

I came to an abrupt stop and whipped around to glare at him, and for the briefest moment I wasn’t looking at Axel. Dark blond hair cleanly shaven on the side and a mess on top, mischievous freckles and a smirk to match, energetic green eyes with not a lick of disgusting yellow in them. The image of Jax faded as quick as it came and was replaced with Ha confused Axel.

“I don’t give a damn what kind of energy you read off me, hell, I don’t care what you think of _any_ of it because I have _no_ interest in being _anywhere_ near you. The last thing I want is a fucking _Fire Elemental_ following me around.”

Without waiting for him to string the words together in his mind or even reply, I spun back around and continued on my path. He didn’t call out after me and he didn’t follow. There was a nagging voice, one that sounded surprisingly like Auron, telling me that I should be the one to apologize now. The only thing Axel had done wrong was be a Fire Elemental in my presence which wasn’t exactly a sin or capital law.

Still, I marched onwards with no glances back at him.

It didn’t matter who he was despite the Elemental tag. Fire Elementals could be addicting. My lightning energy wanted to mingle with his. It was natural. Every piece of my Elemental side wanted to reach out to him. Fire and Lightning were meant to interact, to thrive with one another. I had learned my lesson the hard way though years ago. I can’t trust those instincts and I sure as hell couldn’t trust a Fire Elemental. Not again.

The café came into view and I felt bad for Cid. I was already in a foul mood and no amount of food was going to miraculously change that in the next forty minutes. Whatever he was coming to me with wasn’t going to go over well.

I began to pass the outdoor seating area with the plan to go inside and ask if anyone had seen a grumpy mechanic roll in, but someone cleared their throat to catch my attention. I stopped and glanced over my shoulder to see Cloud sitting at a table alone. In front of him were two glasses of water and two sets of silverware. Oh fuck.

“Hey, [Name].”

I let out a slow sigh, “Cid isn’t meeting me for lunch is he?”

Cloud gave me a soft smile and shook his head. I briefly thought about making a bolt for it. He wouldn’t be able to catch me. Cloud nodded once, “If you make a break for it, I _will_ chase after you. Might not be able to catch you, but there’s already enough rumors about us floating around. That kinda scene isn’t going to help matters.”

He wasn’t wrong. I slowly sat down, and as I did so the anger from seeing Axel morphed into absolute guilt. Cloud had done nothing wrong. He had only treated me with kindness, and this is how I repaid him.

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled and kept my hands in my lap. I could feel them began to tingle and the last thing I wanted to do was electrocute him through the metal table.

Cloud chuckled, “You don’t have to apologize.”

“No, I do. I’ve been… I’ve been _awful_ to you, and you don’t deserve it.”

“From what I hear”, Cloud leaned against the table with his arms crossed, “You’ve been kind of awful to everyone.”

I flinched, “Did Roxas and Ven tell you?”

“I asked them to keep an eye on you. I was… worried.” Cloud shrugged his shoulders lightly. He was tense, I could see that in his form, but his eyes looked nothing but concerned.

“Did you also tell them to obsess over befriending me?”

Cloud let out a small laugh and shook his head, “No, they’ve decided to do that all on their own. Ven is honestly a little infatuated with you. He’s a good day away from getting matching bracelets for the both of you.”

I chuckled, but it was short lived. He should honestly just move on. Ven wanted this grand friendship, and I wasn’t sure I could even provide it. I shook my head, “He could do better.”

Cloud frowned at this, but the waitress came around to take our order. Sitting across from Cloud had kind of ruined any appetite I had so I kept my order small. After she left, we both just sat in silence for a few minutes.

“Is that why you keep pushing us away? You don’t think you deserve us? Because if you’d rather just make friends with others, I can tell Ven and Roxas to chill out some.”

“ _No_!” The word came out before my mind processed anything. Lying and saying yes could have maybe solved some issues for me, but I didn’t want any of them to think this had anything to do with them. My decision to distance myself was on me. “All of you are incredible. This has nothing to do with you. It’s… it’s _me_.”

Cloud furrowed his eyebrows, “Has everything been ok? Are you getting nightmares again?”

“No, I haven’t had one since the cabin when I first showed up.” I shrugged. “It’s hard to explain, Cloud, and the more you know… I just think it would be better for all of us if we just—just stayed distant. I appreciate everything you did for me, but… this is for the best.”

Cloud shook his head, “No.”

“Cloud-”

“You’re upset over something, scared even”, He paused to see my reaction on that word, and I wasn’t sure if I gave anything away, “But you don’t actually want to push us away. Ven’s already told me that sometimes you slip up, the coldness disappears, and you find yourself enjoying your time with him. Not that I can understand how you’d enjoy time with _him_.” The joke had brought a smile to my face, and he responded with one of his own, “Roxas tells me something similar and that makes me think that you’re forcing yourself to be distant, not because you want it but because… because— _I don’t know_.”

I clenched my hands into fists and tried to muddle through all the thoughts in my mind. Cloud suddenly reached his hand out, palm up. It was something he did at the cabin which right now seemed so long ago. My eyes darted to his, but he only nodded.

After a quick glance over my shoulders, I reached out and let my middle finger lightly trace over the lines on his palms while he focused a small healing spell in the palm of his hand. The light blue spark from my fingertip danced with the light green of his spell wherever our skin met. It was an easy way for me to discharge short bursts of energy and keep my mind calm and centered at the same time. It was only during this action that I realized how much I had really missed him. The movie nights where we’d curl up on the couch and try to watch something on the screen of his phone since the cabin didn’t have a TV. Leaning against him while he studied, listening to him voice his thoughts or read aloud.

“I’m so, so sorry.” I whispered and kept my gaze on the glow from our hands.

“You don’t have to say that. What you’re going through… I can’t pretend like I understand it, but I want to be there for you at the very least.”

I spared him a glance, “Why?”

He sucked in a sharp breath as a moment of confusion crossed his features. He stretched his fingers and I felt the healing spell crawl up my arm in response. Cloud swallowed once before replying, “You’re my friend. You’re my friend and… and I think you need help.”

“Maybe.” I chuckled and let my gaze drift down again to watch the light show.

“Besides”, Cloud cleared his throat, “You’re technically my first patient ever, the last thing I need is for you to become some hermit living in the outer rim worlds talking to rocks or some shit.”

A laugh spilled from my lips at the mental picture. That’s kinda what I had planned really, wasn’t it? I shook my head at him and focused on his gaze again at the reminder, “I never told you congrats. Ven and Roxas told me the test went good, did you get into the class?”

“Yeah, I start next Monday.”

“That’s amazing.” I breathed sincerely, “You deserve it. After what you had to put up with over the summer, Auron better have given you a glowing recommendation.”

Cloud shrugged, “It wasn’t too bad. The trip had its perks.”

The waitress came back over with our food around this time, and we were forced to pull our hands back. The simple touch had done wonders from my static-y brain though. It was nice to let it out, and Cloud had always been such a calming presence.

**++++**

“I think they forgot to give us a third fork.” Aerith hummed to Yuffie as she dug through the plastic bag in her hand. They had picked up lunch from in town and were returning to where Tifa was waiting in a study room they had claimed for the year.

“ _Holy shit_.” Yuffie grabbed her arm and yanked her to a screeching stop.

Aerith tightened her hand around the food and breathed a sigh of relief that nothing had spilt. She glanced at Yuffie who was staring in the distance with a slack jaw, “What?”

She followed the woman’s gaze only to raise her eyebrows in surprise. Cloud was sitting at a table at the café next to the Institute with a pretty [hair color] girl. This alone was kind of a shock since Cloud only tended to be social with people he knew well, but he wasn’t just sitting there with her.

His hand was reached across the table and the woman was lightly tracing her own hand against his. Her gaze was focused on the hands with a cute, small smile, but Cloud’s soft gaze was focused solely on her features.

“That _liar_! He said they weren’t dating!” Yuffie pulled out her phone and began to snap pictures, most likely to send out in a mass group message. Hell, based on her excitement Yuffie might just post it on the school website. She finished snapping pictures and moved towards the table.

Aerith was quick to grab the back of Yuffie’s shirt collar, “ _No_!”

“I wanna meet her _and_ call Cloud a liar!”

“We don’t know the full story of what’s going on. Cloud said they weren’t dating so we have to give them the benefit of the doubt. Besides, they look… busy.” Aerith would admit that the scene before her looked incriminating. Cloud had never been a liar though, and she believed him when he said what he did. If he had feelings for someone, if he was dating someone, he could tell them.

Yuffie groaned, “Fine. Let’s go see Tifa. I want to tell her that we need to beat the shit out of Strife later.”

Aerith gave Cloud one last curious glance before following after the bouncing Yuffie.

**++++**

We had originally ate our food in silence, but as we neared the end of our meal we slipped into small talk and surprisingly the small talk wasn’t painful. I told Cloud about my classes and he told me about his. His schedule was definitely more ‘training’ oriented than the high school but that made sense.

“My Institute friends are freaking out over you too. It’s taken literally all of us to keep Yuffie from seeking you out.” Cloud scoffed. I didn’t know who this Yuffie person was, but I was glad him and others had looked out for me. I still wasn’t entirely sure I could handle that yet.

“I don’t think Squall is too fond of me.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Training.” I said simply with a tight-lipped smile. For the past few days all I had done was sit in the bleachers and do schoolwork. Roxas, Ven, and the others had never questioned me directly about it, but I’d get curious looks. Except from Squall, his looks were more or less skeptical glares.

Cloud sighed, “Leon—Er, Squall just takes a minute and a half to warm up to. He means well.”

“I’m sure he does. I’m kinda sketch after all.”

“Speaking of sketch”, Cloud pushed his plate toward my empty one in the middle of the table, “I have something to give you, but I don’t really know the significance behind it?”

I raised an eyebrow at him and watched as he pulled a small, dark green box out from his jacket. The box was easily recognizable, and my confusion grew, “That’s Cid’s box. He’d always take it with him when he flew. He’d keep a few important items in it and stick it in his pocket for luck.”

Cloud just handed the box to me and I took it warily. Usually, it had a picture of Cid’s parents, a screw from one of the first airships he flew, and his lucky lighter. When I opened it though, that’s not what greeted me.

“Oh my God.” I gasped. Inside was the jewelry I had taken off right before walking into the portal since I knew it wasn’t going to be needed. I had handed them all to Lulu though, not Cid. I knew Cloud’s eyes were on me, and I knew he was confused, but I just focused on slipping them all on.

Two rings on my left ring finger, a zig-zag ring above a thin metal band.

One ring on my left middle finger, shaped like an ‘X’ with a ‘+’ in the center of it.

One ring on my left index finger, a collection of circles.

Three rings on my right pinky, all thin metal bands.

Two rings on my right middle finger, a thick band at the bottom and a thinner above my knuckle.

There were also two bracelets, a thick cuff that went around my left biceps and a thinner one that sat around my forearm. Finally, I picked up the last piece of jewelry, an old, simple wedding ring with a small, oval diamond at the center and smaller diamonds below it in half circles below the main band. My mom’s wedding ring. It came with a broken chain. I had worn it around my neck for years. The last memory I had seen of this one was when a certain demonic asshole had ripped it from my neck, shattering the chain. It had happened only an hour before I gave up the rest of the golden jewelry, but I thought for sure this had been lost for good.

I slipped it onto my right thumb and just stared at it. I thought I wouldn’t ever see it again.

“Thank you.”

Cloud shrugged, “You should thank Cid.”

“I need to thank you too.” I grinned. I clenched my hands a few times and let electricity bounce from ring to ring for old times’ sake. It was quick, not even noticeable unless you were staring at my hands, but Cloud seemed to understand. The gold was a conductor, one of the best metal conductors that won’t tarnish away. Because of that, I was able to channel my lightning into each individual ring if I wanted. Lulu had made them for me before my first mission and I hadn’t gone on a single one without the useful accessories. Not only could the conductors help supercharge my abilities if need be, the rings gave me an outlet to use. I wouldn’t have to spend so much time trying to suck in all my energy.

Still, I should be cautious and try not to use the outlets around anyone who didn’t know my secret. Nothing would give me away faster than lightning bouncing from finger to finger.

“Do you feel safer?”

I blinked in surprise at his question, “What?”

“I thought maybe that’s the reason why you’re distant. You don’t feel safe.”

“Cloud,” I spoke slowly, emphasizing my words, “I’m not scared for _my_ safety.”

Just like I thought he would, the blond picked up on what I meant immediately. He frowned in confusion, “No one here, or around you, is in any danger.”

I opened my mouth to argue. He didn’t know, and I didn’t expect him to. Cloud knew my story, but he hadn’t faced Jax before. He didn’t understand the potential danger. Cloud didn’t let me get my thoughts out though. He threw the payment for the meal onto the table and motioned for me to follow him.

“It’s almost class time.” I argued.

“I know. You’re coming to my class.”

“You and Ven are just determined to have me never show up for study hall.”

The Institute was very different. Where the Academy felt like a high school inside with colorful lockers and flyers for clubs and after school activities, the Institute felt like a business building. It was also way more confusing to get around, the hallways didn’t seem to make simple sense like ours did, but Cloud navigated them with ease. He stopped in front of a set of double doors that had a single door beside it.

“Go through here and all the way up. There’s going to be a small office where you can look into the gym.” He opened the door for me.

“Why do I want to look into the gym?”

“Because I want to show you that you have nothing to worry about. Plus, you’ve stood me up like 3 times this week the least you could do—” Mid-way through his guilt trip, I lifted my hand and poked his cheek with a static shock. He just smirked and nodded for me to go up.

I had to go up two flights of stairs and the office he talked about looked like a little viewing room. The wall was made of glass and there were three rows of stadium like seats. Maybe 15 chairs in total, in rows of five. I walked up to the glass and wondered if the people in the gym below could see me.

Their training gym was even fancier than the Academy’s. With all the bells and whistles you’d expect of a place like this. I recognized Cloud and Squall, but that was it. There was a girl talking to the two of them. Her hair was long and a dark brown, and she wore a white crop top with workout shorts and maybe fingerless gloves? Was hand to hand her specialty? It was hard to tell from up here.

“Come to watch them train?”

I jumped and whipped around, “Shit, Auron. You scared me.”

Auron stopped by the door and looked up at the intact lights. I followed his gaze, but it took a moment before I was on the same page as him. He had startled me, but no electricity had lashed out and sparked. Just two days ago I had blown every lightbulb in his apartment when he came home late while I wasn’t paying attention.

I glanced down at my hands, that didn’t seem right? The conductors would give my energy a playground to run around in, but it never held it back before.

“That’s new.” He came over and stood by me, taking my right hand in his.

“No, it’s mom’s ring.”

“You’ve never worn it on your hands though.”

I shrugged, “The chain was broken. I couldn’t wear it around my neck anymore, not until I get a new one.”

Auron glanced up to meet my eyes, “The diamonds. Reach out for it.”

Diamond. I let the energy on my right-hand bounce to the metal around my thumb, but the spark died quickly to my surprise. Unlike the rings, which I could feel vibrate with my own energy against my skin. There was nothing where the diamonds sat. A void. It reminded me of…

“It’s an _insulator_.” I breathed. I hadn’t been exposed to much diamond before, and I sure as hell never tried to channel my power through my mom’s vintage ring. “Just like the earth or rubber.”

“This is interesting.” Auron mumbled. “It should be able to help restrict some of your outbursts of power. I guess we don’t have to break out the rubber bands.”

I narrowed my eyes at the mention of those rubber bracelets that I used to wear as a kid to prevent power surges, “Not funny.”

Auron shot me a quick, but amused smile, before turning his attention back to the gym. Everyone down below had paired up and a few, like Cloud, had changed into something easier to move in. They had begun with warming up, but it turned to a full-on spar within moments. The woman I had noticed earlier was now going to head to head with another woman, one with pink hair. I kept my eyes on the only two guys I knew, and it helped that they were sparring each other.

“Cloud uses a blade from the Buster class”, I thought aloud watching the blond swing around the enormous broadsword. Just as my mind wondered why the sword seemed so off, he broke it apart in an attack so a smaller portion stayed in one hand while the other held the main portion of his sword. “ _What the fuck_??”

Auron nodded, “It’s a fusion weapon based off the old Buster blades. There are many fusion weapons based off other classes, but this one is unique to Cloud. It was forged for him during his senior year in the Academy.”

Squall wasn’t fazed by the blade like I was and countered every attack with one of his own. My surprise only grew to see him using what looked like a Gunblade. Those weren’t necessarily rare but finding someone who was competent at using one was.

And from what it seemed; Squall was more than competent.

“We have a few students who use Gunblades. All advanced students.” Auron commented.

Cloud and Squall seemed equal in their skills and their fighting styles were unique enough to keep them neck and neck in the spar. Cloud would hit hard, occasionally dual wielding with swords he would switch out with another, but Squall was always there to block and counter. I watched as Cloud swung down on Squall hard, but Squall put his own blade up to clash with the metal. As soon as the two blades met Squall fired the Gunblade. It jarred Cloud and gave Squall enough time to kick him back and attack.

I guess Cloud wanted to show me they were able to protect themselves.

“I picked this school for more than just convenience.” Auron said as my eyes drifted over to the brunette and pink haired woman fighting in a blur of fists and kicks. “The people here, they are capable. _Strong_. Cid and I have spoken on multiple occasions and we truly believe that if our group, our friends, had been at the level of those around us now here on this campus… well, maybe our losses wouldn’t have been so _staggering_. Maybe we wouldn’t have lost you.”

I crossed my arms, “Skilled or not… It’s not right of me to put them at risk.”

“Risk of what?” He pressed and I did not reply. Auron sighed deeply, “[Name].”

“Auron, you don’t know—”

“He isn’t a risk to you, to anyone. Jax is _dead_.”

I shook my head and stepped away from the window, “But he’s _not_. He’s out there, Auron. He’s sitting in that godforsaken world just _waiting_ for a chance to escape.”

“But he can’t.”

“I did!”

Auron set his hands on my shoulders, “No, you _didn’t_. You didn’t escape, we pulled you out ourselves. We pulled you out because we loved you enough to never give up on you. Jax doesn’t have that. There is no one, not a single soul, in the universe who would pull him out of that hole.”

I pressed my hands against my face, the cool touch of my metal rings was comforting to some degree. Auron squeezed my shoulders and I pulled my hands away, “I’m just scared, Auron.”

“It’s a justified fear, but you can’t let it stop you from living your life. Don’t let it define you.”

A huff of air left my lips and I turned away from him to go sit down in the front row of chairs in the room. I felt so conflicted and torn, and this wasn’t a feeling I was accustomed to. Back during the war, I was known for my definite actions. I didn’t hesitate, I made decisions and was sure of myself. It’s what made me good at what I did. Now though? There wasn’t a shred of confidence left in me.

“I feel so frayed, Auron. Emotionally unstable and unsure of _every_ step I take, and I don’t get why I can’t just… snap out of it.” I bent over, resting my elbows on my knees, and played with my mom’s ring. “With the fighting and with trying to figure out whether to open myself up or shut myself out… Today I snapped at a guy I didn’t even know. He came to me to apologize, but he reminded me of… _God_ , I _lost_ it.”

Auron sat beside me, “So you’ve met Axel.”

“I’m lost.” I said simply.

Auron shook his head, “You’ve been through something traumatic. It’s normal to feel this way.”

“I’ve been trained though, I shouldn’t feel so—so _shattered_.”

“ _No_.” He replied firmly, “You _haven’t_ been trained. Not for _this_ , no one has been or ever should be trained for what you went through. [Name], there will be no quick fix to this. I can’t undo what has been done, by the light I wish I could, but… this is something you will have to overcome yourself. It will be slow and I’m sorry to say that you will feel off-balance and unsure, but that’s part of the process.”

I gave him a tight-lipped smile, “I just thought I was stronger.”

Auron chuckled, “The strongest thing you can do is endure. _Heal_. Then move on. Live your life as you want.”

The door across the room suddenly opened and Cloud came in, but he came to a halting stop at the sight of the man next to me. Cloud wore a sleeveless shirt and joggers. The same thing he had trained in.

“Oh, Auron. How are you?” Cloud asked. I glanced from him back to Auron. Had Auron not come in because Cloud told him to? It seemed more and more likely that my old friend had some sort of tracker on me because there was no way these were just coincidences.

“I’m fine. Congratulations on your acceptance into Magic and Meds.” Auron stood.

Cloud stepped forward and offered his hand, Auron shook it with a small smile, “I have you to thank for it. Without your recommendation I don’t know if they even would’ve considered me.”

“I think you are selling yourself short.” Auron chuckled. He turned to me, “I’ll see you later, [Name].”

Cloud seemed surprised that Auron was excusing himself, but Auron had already said his piece to me and I recognized the smug look in his eyes. Auron was giving me a chance to grow on my own. In this situation, he was kind of like a pair of training wheels. A comfort to have, but if I ever wanted to make progress, I’d have to experience things without him or Cid.

“So, what did you think?” Cloud sat down next to me after Auron was out of the room.

“I think, you just wanted to show off.” I joked, “Is that where Ven gets that from?”

“Maybe.” Cloud chuckled and understood the tone I set. The two of us fell into casual conversation as he told me more about the people I had seen in his class. Sitting beside him, conversing with him, left me feeling not so broken.

**++++**

Sora held the cardboard drink carrier closer to him as he hurried down the hall to homeroom. For the ninth time since he grabbed the drinks, he mentally went over which was which. It would’ve been helpful if the cups had been marked, but it was too late to think on that now.

He stepped into homeroom, nodding once at Mrs. Tolbert at her desk, before turning toward his own seat. Sora was startled to see [Name] was already there talking to Riku while Ven leaned over her desk and tried to pry her attention away from his best friend. Roxas was texting on his phone but he’d look up every couple seconds to laugh or comment.

Well, this wasn’t a bad sign. Usually [Name] didn’t come in until the bell was about to ring and it gave him little to no time to talk to the new girl. Sora glanced down at his cups and mentally went over them one last time.

“Morning guys!” He chirped and sat down in his seat backwards so he’d be facing [Name]’s desk. He handed the top left cup to Riku, the top right cup to Roxas, and the bottom right cup to Ventus. Sora then set the cup holder on his desk before offering the last cup to [Name]. “I know you said you don’t drink coffee, so this morning I grabbed you one of the teas! I’m not crazy about tea so I haven’t tried it, but this is the most popular one.”

[Name] blinked in surprise and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Sora noticed the new jewelry, but didn’t let the gold distract him, “If you don’t like it, I can always bring a different tea. Or even some hot chocolate! That’s not super popular in the summer, but we still sell it.”

Slowly, a broad smile lit her features and it brought a smile to his own face. He actually hadn’t seen [Name] really smile up until now. Maybe some small, polite smiles here and there but this was a real one and it was filled with real emotion.

“Thank you so much, Sora.” She took the cup from his hand. “You’re a good friend.”

Sora beamed at the words and Riku leaned toward her, “Told you not everyone here is as shitty as Ven.”

“Riku, get bent.”

The two delved into another argument, but Sora didn’t let that deter him from getting to know his new friend.


	6. traditions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Change does not change tradition, it strengths it. Change is a challenge and an opportunity, not a threat."   
> -Prince Philip of England

**++++**

I blinked in shock, then let my gaze drift down to the coffee maker in front of me before raising back to Auron who stood in the kitchen with a packed bag. He had said words, but the words hadn’t fully clung to my early morning my brain.

“You…wait, _what_?” I pressed, ignoring the beeping of the coffee which had finished brewing. Sora thought I only liked tea now, and I would rather die than admit I fooled him, so it seemed I only could drink coffee in the comfort of Auron’s home. “You’re _leaving_??”

Auron set his bag down, “I was supposed to leave after the first day of classes, but I wanted to make sure you were settled enough on your own. I’m confident of that now.”

“But—I—Where are you going?”

“A few other worlds. Ones with training institutes of their own. It’s part of my job.” Auron replied. He grabbed a clean mug from the dish rack and set it on the counter. I watched as he poured some coffee into the cup and then pushed it toward me. “You’ll be fine here, [Name]. Cid will still be here if you need anything, and you also have Cloud.”

I stepped toward him and crossed my arms, “I know that. I do, I’m not worried about that. I just… I’m going to _miss_ you, Auron.”

The last time I said goodbye to him, I didn’t see him again for 17 years. I knew the situation was different than it was before, but I still felt sad at the thought of him leaving. I truly would miss him coming home at night and having him to joke around with. The apartment would be bleak without him.

Auron chuckled and pulled me into a tight hug that I had no qualms with returning. He pulled back after a moment, “I’ll be back by the end of the month and if you need me, I’m only a phone call away.”

“Be safe while you’re out there.” I picked up my coffee cup and tapped my finger against the ceramic. “And bring me a cool souvenir.”

“Have fun on the camping trip and stay out of trouble while I’m gone.” Auron grabbed his bag and walked toward the front door. I followed him and leaned against the kitchen arch.

With a smirk, I lifted my glass up at him, “Sure thing, _dad_.”

Auron rolled his eyes and gave me a small wave. Just like that I was home alone and would be for the next month or even longer. I knew how Auron got on these missions. He’d be so absorbed in his work that time would slip by without him even noticing. Like he said though, I’d be ok. I didn’t want any issue I had to hold him back from his own life.

I grabbed my phone off the coffee table and then went out to the balcony to sit on a chair with my feet up on the railing. It was only around 8 in the morning, but I had gotten into the habit of not sleeping in. Usually I’d wake up at 6 to go on a beach run and work out some then get ready for school which started at 8. Today I had done the workout, but now I had nothing to do until later in the afternoon.

Roxas and the others had invited me on that camping trip and yesterday during class I had accepted the invitation. I was supposed to meet them later by the dock where we’d take a boat to the North side of the island. It was just Academy students and all people I’ve already met.

I goofed off on my phone for a little while and slowly sipped on my coffee. At some point today I needed to go out and buy a bathing suit for the camping trip. That was the one thing I hadn’t bought yet while here. I’d get around to it, I still had plenty of time, and right now the warmth in the air made me happy to stay right where I was.

**++++**

Roxas dug through the hallway closet looking for their old tent. It was in here somewhere, probably. This was their junk closet so anything they weren’t immediately using got tossed in here. The last time they had used the tent was last year’s trip and he vaguely remembered Ven throwing it in here.

“Cloud!” He called out but didn’t hear a response from his older brother. Roxas grabbed a bag of baseball bats and a bucket fell from the top shelf onto the top of his head, “ _Motherfucker_.”

“Language.” Cloud suddenly said from behind him.

Roxas kicked the bucket aside and shot his brother a glare while rubbing the top of his head. He was about two minutes from just sleeping in the sand and praying it didn’t rain. Stupid tent, stupid bucket.

Cloud chuckled, “Tent is by the front door.”

“Son of a—” Roxas stepped out of the closet and shut the door.

“Where’s Ven?”

Roxas stepped back into the kitchen and reached for the coffee maker. It would be his second cup before 9:30 but honestly he needed it like he needed air, “With Terra and Aqua. He’s also supposed to be picking up some fishing stuff. Riku is bringing his poles.”

“Better remind him.” Cloud replied. He wasn’t wrong. Roxas picked up his phone and shot his twin a reminder. “[Name] is still planning on going right?”

Roxas nodded, “That’s what she said. I was going to text her a little later and make sure she was still on board.”

“I’ll ask her.”

Roxas set down his cup to stare at his brother who was doing something on his phone. He paused briefly before speaking up, “Are you asking her now?”

Cloud glanced up, “No. We’re meeting up in about a half hour. She wants to meet Yuffie and all of them.”

“She _wants_ to…?”

“Well, she finally feels comfortable enough to meet them, I should say, and besides… I don’t think I can hold Yuffie back much longer.” Cloud shrugged.

Roxas wanted to ask the question that’s been on his mind since he met [Name], but he wasn’t quite sure if Cloud would actually answer. He had been kind of weird up to this point when it came to the subject of her. Roxas took a quick of his drink.

“So”, He drawled out, “[Name] kind of had a change of heart yesterday… Do you know what happened there?”

Cloud seemed to freeze, his shoulders stiffened for a brief moment, but then they quickly relaxed again. He heaved a sigh and set down his phone. There was a pause where they just stared at each other before Cloud nodded, “Ok, what do you know?”

“[Name] was adopted by Auron. She used to live in the outer rim worlds in the middle of nowhere, so she’s lost on a few things.” Roxas thought aloud. That was all that really came to him though, “She’s enrolled in the Academy but doesn’t know how to fight. Umm…?”

“Right. [Name] is… is kind of on the shy side. She isn’t used to large crowds or being in such a heavily populated, or modern, area so it’s thrown her off a little. It took her a bit, but I think she’s starting to get used to her surroundings now.”

Roxas nodded and took another sip of his coffee. So, he had been right to some degree. From the first time he saw her he thought there was something a little odd about her, and this only solidified his belief. [Name] just wasn’t used to being around a larger group is all. Maybe that was why it was easier to catch her slipping up and letting her walls down when there was less people. He’d have to keep an eye on that today when they went to the North side of the island. This would be the first time she’d be hanging out with all 7 of them at once.

“I’m heading out, but I won’t be back until probably 3. When are you guys leaving?”

Roxas snapped out of his thoughts, “Uh… 1. We’re meeting at the docks then.”

“Alright”, Cloud scooped up his wallet, keys, and phone, “Be safe out there. Don’t do anything stupid.” Roxas shot him a look and Cloud chuckled, “Ok, keep _Ven_ from doing something stupid out there.” He suddenly stopped to point at him, “ _No fireworks_.”

The memory of Ven accidentally throwing a few fireworks _into_ the fire when he was drunkenly trying to toss them _over_ it to Sora briefly flashed through his mind. Roxas sighed, “I’d like to think we learned better from last time.”

“Hey”, Cloud voice brought Roxas’ attention back to him. Was there more? How many warnings of safety was his older brother going to shoot at him today? This wasn’t the first time they’ve been out on their own with friends. Cloud nodded once, “Keep an eye on her. She’s trying, but too much too soon could still throw her off.”

Roxas tried to recognize the look on his brother’s face. There really was more. Cloud was protective over her, he had figured this out early, and that wasn’t necessarily surprising. Roxas knew how seriously Cloud took taking care of his friends and family. What was confusing him was the fact that Cloud wasn’t sharing all the details. Roxas wasn’t accustomed to having secrets between him and his brothers.

“Of course.” Roxas promised. “I’ll make sure she isn’t overwhelmed.”

Cloud gave him a firm smile before leaving and Roxas stood at the kitchen island wondering what exactly was so important that Cloud couldn’t tell his own brothers.

**++++**

_Thwack, Thwack, Thwack._

My sandal slapped against the concrete ground every time I bounced my leg. The noise was annoying as shit, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop. Just like I couldn’t bring myself to stop twisting my mom’s wedding finger around my thumb. Cloud had invited me out to a coffee shop to meet some of his friends which was innocent enough. I did want to meet them.

That didn’t change how nervous I was to do so though.

‘ _This is part of the process. This is normal,’_ I reminded myself in a repeating mantra, but the words did nothing to ease my anxiety. It just seemed like there was so much that could go wrong. Before I could rattle down the list of possibilities, I spotted Cloud’s head of spiky blond hair approaching the community garden on campus that I was sitting by. It was where we agreed to meet.

His eyes landed on me and widened slightly. I stood as Cloud made his way over and he glanced down at the watch on his wrist, “Sorry I—”

“You’re not late. I’m kinda _super_ early.” I raised a hand to wave his watch back down to his side. “I was nervous about being late, so I left early.”

Cloud gave me a firm smile and motioned for me to follow him, “You have nothing to be nervous about.” I wanted to argue otherwise. “They’re good people. It won’t be stressful, I promise. But if you do start to feel like it’s a little too much just tell me and I’ll get you out of there.”

“Thanks, Cloud.” I said. His reassurance hadn’t helped much, but the safety net of an escape plan put my restless mind at ease.

“So are you excited for your trip today?”

I grinned, “I think so? It’ll be… fun.”

Cloud nodded, “It will be. Roxas and Ven look forward to it every year.”

He led me down a path that cut through a small park area where a few students were lounging by trees or going about their day. I nudged him lightly, “What do you have planned for today?”

“Well”, Cloud thought, “After this I think I was going to train some with Leon, Tifa, and Zack. At some point today I wanted to go over more Magic and Med chapters before class on Monday.”

“Such a good little student. It’s adorable.” I joked and Cloud set his hand on my face and lightly pushed me away from him, but the action only made me laugh more.

The two of us continued down the path and the more we spoke to one another the more my nerves seemed to dissipate. We finally reached a decent sized coffee shop on the edge of campus closer to the Institute. It was a one-story building with a very open concept. There were tons of seating outside and the walls were mostly made of glass so you could see right in. From what I could see of the inside there were various tables of all different designs and sizes scattered rather haphazardly, but it seemed like the disarray was a style choice.

“Hey, quick warning, I told Yuffie to bring her excitement down like 12 levels, but sometimes people think she’s a little too much. She means well. She’s just really excited to meet you is all.” Cloud leaned over toward me.

I set my hand on his forearm, “It’s ok. Thanks for the heads up.”

Cloud motioned to the left where a small group of people were walking right toward us. One I recognized from the gym two days ago. Her brown hair went down to her midback and the ends of it were tied into a small bun. She wore a black t-shirt crop top with joggers and tennis shoes like she was either going to the gym or coming from it. She stood between another brown-haired girl, lighter this time in skin tone and hair, who had her hair braided back in a ponytail held by a pale pink bow that matched her summer dress. The last girl had black hair with a green headband holding back some of the hair from her eyes, she had on a dark gray floral sleeveless shirt with jean shorts and a broad grin that lit up her entire face.

Behind the girls was Squall, who looked as stony as ever while he spoke to a raven-haired guy I hadn’t seen before. This other guy had a cheerful smile as he spoke to Squall with blue eyes that I could notice from all the way over here. He also wore clothes he could work out in.

Cloud nudged me with his shoulder, and it was only then I had noticed how my clammy hands had clenched into my sides with lighting sparking against my rings. I gave him a smile and channeled any excess energy I had slowly into my mother’s ring where it died off.

The short haired girl spotted us and immediately broke away from the group to sprint to us. Cloud sucked in a sharp breath beside me. I could tell the girl was about to tackle me in a hug so I tried to make sure no residue sparks on my skin would shock her.

This must be Yuffie.

Yuffie came to a screeching halt right in front of me and just froze. I glanced at Cloud once who looked equally as confused before focusing my eyes back on her gaze. Her eyes were a dark, dark brown and as I stared back at her the smile she had been wearing shifted from broad and loud to soft and sincere. Yuffie had been standing on the balls of her feet in front of me, but she dropped back down to her heels.

“[Name], right?” She asked.

I nodded once, shooting Cloud another look but he was watching Yuffie, “Uh yeah. That’s me. Yuffie?”

“Mhmm, that’s me!” Yuffie chirped, “Is it ok if I hug you?” I was startled by the question, especially since Cloud made it seem like I wasn’t going to have a choice in the matter, but slowly offered a small smile and nod. Yuffie pulled me into a tight hug, “Any friend of Cloud’s is a friend of mine! You let the Great Ninja Yuffie know if you need _anything_ and I’ll be there in a flash!”

She pulled away to give me a thumbs up and I chuckled, “Thanks, Yuffie. It’s really great to meet you.”

The others had reached us at this point and also gave Yuffie curious glances. The brunette from the gym stepped forward, “Um, well now that you’ve met Yuffie, my name is Tifa.” She offered me her hand and I shook it before giving her my name. She motioned to the girl beside her, “This is Aerith.”

Aerith gave me a wave, “It’s nice to finally meet you, [Name]. We’ve heard a lot.”

“Ok, not a _lot_.” Cloud argued.

The raven-haired guy stepped forward and wrapped his arm around Cloud, pulling him into a slight headlock, “My name is Zack, and I gotta say this guy would _not_ shut up about you.”

Cloud punched Zack in the side making him fall back clutching his stomach while laughing. The energy alone made me chuckle as well. Zack noticed this and his grin broadened. I quickly glanced over at Squall and offered him a wave of my own, “Hey Squall, how are you?”

He nodded at me, but before he could say anything Zack scoffed, “ _Squall_?? You’re making her call you _Squall_??”

“She’s my _student_.” He replied.

“Stony Squall a stickler for rules.” Zack shot back just as quickly, and Squall leveled off a glare at him. Zack replied to the glare with a sheepish grin and took a step away from him and closer to me.

Aerith grabbed my attention next, “You’re a senior at the Academy, right?” I nodded and she continued, “So you’re going on the camping trip with Roxas, Ven, Sora, and the others?”

“Yeah, I leave this afternoon.” I replied, “I still need to go out and buy a bathing suit though. I’ve been kind of slacking.”

Tifa smiled and motioned for me to follow her which I did, “We can tell you the best spots to buy one, there’s one store on main street that sells the cutest ones! Come on, let’s get something to drink.”

Tifa led me into the shop, aptly named ‘ _CUP_ ’, alongside Aerith and Zack with Squall and the others following behind I assumed. They were rattling off questions to me, but I had no issues with answering most of them. Their friendly and sincere nature made me feel comfortable in my own skin.

**++++**

Cloud was going to follow after [Name] who was being dragged into the coffee shop with Tifa and Aerith on either side of her, but he noticed Yuffie hadn’t moved yet. Even Zack and Leon had gone after the girls, still lightly arguing about what [Name] should call him, but Yuffie was like a statue. She just stood in place staring at where [Name] had entered the building.

When he moved to the island, most of his friends had already been here with the exception of Yuffie. She transferred into the Academy their Junior year. From the moment they met her, she had been bubbly and filled with a contagious drive that one couldn’t help but welcome. Yuffie had always been the life of the party, the one you went to when you needed cheering up. It wasn’t until the end of their Senior year in the Academy that they found out why Yuffie was filled with such life and vigor.

Why she never seemed to have a bad day.

“Yuff, is everything ok?” Cloud asked. A part of him had a faint idea as to why she had stopped so suddenly, but he still didn’t know what had given [Name] away.

Yuffie didn’t turn her gaze to him. She just reached out and slipped her hand into his giving him a tight squeeze. Cloud returned the grip comfortingly and she whispered softly, “I didn’t expect that.”

“Yuffie.”

She turned to face him with a sad smile, “There’s a _lot_ you didn’t tell us.”

Cloud paused briefly before giving her a quick bob of his head, “Why’d you stop? What did you see?”

“Her eyes.” Yuffie replied quickly. “I recognize that look. She’s _hurt_.”

Cloud couldn’t help but comparing. The look Yuffie wore when she told all of them about her world crumbling down around her in fire and ash, the scarred look in her eyes when she admitted she had no one left except them.

He could see Yuffie’s mind reeling back to her own pain and he quickly pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in his chest for a moment. When she pulled away from him her smile was back, and she was herself again.

“Don’t tell anyone about her, not even me.” Yuffie held a finger up at him, almost as a threat, “And don’t tell her I could see her pain.”

“Why not? You might be able to help her where I can’t, Yuff.”

“Because this isn’t my story or yours. It’s _hers_. She gets to decide when and who knows it.” Yuffie beamed and slipped her arm through his, “And don’t be such a downer. You’re _more_ than enough, Cloud Strife.”

Cloud chuckled and walked toward the coffee shop with Yuffie bouncing beside him. When they stepped in, he could see that the group was already seated at their usual table with drinks ordered and served. [Name] was sitting where he would usually sit, just like everyone else was, but rather than sit in her usual seat Aerith had left one seat open beside [Name] where his drink sat waiting for him. He didn’t know whose idea it was to leave him beside her, but he liked the idea of being close to her just in case she needed to escape. However, based on the way she was talking and smiling it didn’t seem like she’d need any help from him. He smiled as Zack nudged her mid joke and she laughed along with his other friends.

“So you guys are in love though, right?”

“ _Yuffie_.”

**++++**

Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie had given me enough store suggestions that I’d never be worried about not finding a specific thing to wear ever. They even offered to give me a tour of all the stores one of these days on a girls’ day consisting of shopping, relaxing, and brunch. I’d never had a girls’ day before unless you counted the one time me and Lulu had snuck into enemy territory undercover.

I really didn’t think that actually counted though since I assumed most girls’ days didn’t end in the girls fist fighting a small militia, but then again I was no expert.

My bag was already packed with everything I thought I might need on this trip and I was wearing the black swimsuit I had bought after meeting with Cloud’s friends. It was a simple black halter top bikini that looked more sporty than flashy. I pulled a white tank top on over it with the only jean shorts I owned as of now.

I sat down on the couch, pulling my phone out and reading over the texts that were still on the screen from before I started packing.

It was 12:50 now. Technically, I could still bail. All I’d have to do is shoot them a text saying something came up and then I wouldn’t have to worry about any of this. My fingers hovered over the keyboard before moving up to lock my phone. This would be good for me. This would be fun. Meeting Cloud’s little crew of Institute students had gone over really well today, and I had a good feeling that this experience would leave me in the same mental space.

Before I could let the nagging, fearful voice in the back of my head speak up, I stood up and pulled my backpack on and left the house. The weather outside, as usual, was bright, hot, and sunny. As I walked down the street through the weekend afternoon crowd, I shot Cid a text letting him know I was heading to the docks for the camping trip. That way he wouldn’t worry.

The dock we planned to meet at was one of many. This wasn’t the larger docks by the Welcome Center where ships flew in, this was a smaller version of that on the edge of town. The street itself jutted out into the ocean and off this man-made peninsula were wooden docks that smaller boats could push off from. It was fairly busy with people working on the boats and the docks themselves. As I got closer though I spotted the group milling around one of the first docks there. Tied to the wooden planks was a small light gray, speed boat with white seats. It looked like it could fit five people on the cushioned seats, but others could sit on the floor easily.

Sora was standing on the end of the boat wearing only yellow board shorts that had a bright red trim. He must have ditched his shirt already. Roxas stood on the dock closest to the boat wearing black swim trunks and an olive-green shirt. He was grabbing bags and handing them to Sora who packed it onto the boat.

Xion, in black distressed shorts and a billowy, gray tank top, stood beside Roxas talking to him and showing him something on her phone while he worked. I could see the straps of her purple bathing suit under her top and she wore a blue-ish gray baseball cap on top of her black hair which was tucked behind her ears.

Standing off to the side was Namine, Kairi, and Ven. My eyes were drawn to Ven first only because he was propped up against a surfboard that he held. He had on a white t-shirt that read ‘ _Academy Athletics’_ in navy blue which also matched his navy swim trunks. I chuckled at the dark sunglasses over his eyes and the bright red baseball cap he wore backwards atop his head. His messy blond hair sticking out where it could.

Namine had on a pale blue summer dress covered in intricate yellow, abstract designs, and the dress was just see through enough that I could see she was wearing a one piece swimsuit but I couldn’t make out the details of it. She also had on a large white sun hat over her platinum blonde hair. It was a stark difference from Kairi who had light denim shorts on along with a long sleeve, cropped swim top. The torso portion was solid black with a zipper going up to her neckline, and the sleeves were decorated with a sky blue and light pink floral design. Her bright red hair was tied back in a messy ponytail where her bangs and stray hairs framed her face.

I glanced around one more time but didn’t spot Riku anywhere. Before I could second guess myself, I pushed forward to them. Sora was the first to notice me approach and raised both his hands up in the air with a grin to greet me, “[Name]!”

Everyone else turned at his greeting and brightened at the sight of me. I gave them the least hesitant smile I could muster and waved, “Hey guys. Thanks again for the invite.”

“Of course! This is gonna be a blast.” Kairi gave me a thumbs up.

“Hand me the board.” Sora called out and Roxas snatched it from Ven who stumbled at the lack of something to lean against.

Ven glared at his smirking brother before stepping over and choosing to lean against me. I motioned to the pink, gray, and black surfboard that Sora was now packing away, “Kairi, you surf?”

Kairi bounced in place in excitement, “Yeah! And the reports are saying the waves on the North side are _glassy_.” She stuck out her pinky and thumb on her left hand and gave them a quick shake, “Do you surf?”

“Nah, I’ve never tried.”

“I could show you a thing or two today if you want?” Kairi offered, “Sora and Riku brought their boards too. We’ve been surfing since we were kids.”

I nodded at her, “You three grew up here, right?”

It was a fact that Roxas had divulged at some point this past week. I couldn’t remember the conversation entirely, but he had said they were natives here. Namine was the one who spoke up, she held a notebook in her arms along with a pencil case shaped like a banana, “Kairi is the best surf teacher. She even got me on the board once.”

“I’d be honored to be another student.” I gave her a thumbs up then glanced around one more time. “Where’s Riku?”

“He’s out buying drinks and filling up the cooler for them.” Roxas answered as he tossed Sora the last item sitting on the dock. Xion came over and offered to take my small bag from me. I thanked her and handed it over so she could toss it to Sora.

With Riku buying drinks I assumed that meant this world’s legal drinking age was also 18, “So is Riku the only one of age?”

“Roxy and I turn 18 this November.” Ven replied then snickered. “Baby Sora just turned 17 last month.”

Sora jumped off the boat onto the dock with a glare that wouldn’t scare a soul, “Don’t be jealous of my youth.”

“Kairi turns 18 this December and Nami and I are February babies.” Xion wrapped her arm around Namine’s shoulder.

“What about you?” Ven pulled away from leaning on me to ask.

I shrugged, “My birthday’s actually pretty soon. August 24th I turn 18.”

“ _Wait_!” Sora lifted his hand and mentally counted days off his finger, “That’s next, _next_ Thursday!”

“What would we do without you, Sora?” Ven grinned at him.

Roxas ignored both of them with only a shake of his head, “Do you have any fun plans?”

Nothing came to mind, plus Auron wouldn’t even be on world around that time. Even back before throwing myself through a portal we never did the whole ‘ _birthday party’_ thing. The last time I remember celebrating it, beyond just getting drunk on the Highwind, was back when my parents were still alive. All in all, August 24th wasn’t exactly my favorite day.

I just shrugged, “No, not really. I don’t usually do the whole big party thing.”

My words piqued their curiosity, but before they could question it a familiar voice called out to us. I turned around to see Riku walking toward us holding a large black cooler covered in stickers in his arms. He had on a plain white t-shirt and gray swim trunks with a light green stripe along the sides that almost looked like they matched his eyes.

“Hey, [Name].” Riku greeted, “You guys ready to go?”

The answer was a loud cheer from the people surrounded. A small part of me was still nervous, but it was overshadowed by my excitement now. Riku boarded the boat, packing away the cooler, and got in the driver’s seat. Kairi dropped down on the far-right side of the back three seat couch behind the driver and passenger seats. Namine sat down as well on the far left. I was going to let Xion grab the last seat, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me down with her. It was a tight fit with me squeezed between Xion and Kairi, but nobody complained about it. I double checked that all my energy was pulled in as tight as possible.

Roxas sat down in the passenger seat while Ven plopped onto the ground in front of us. I was surprised when he leaned back against my legs. Sora surprised me by jumping onto the back of the small boat, making the entire thing rock, but he was now kneeling down in a small dip of the boat where most of the belongings were tucked away. He gripped the back of the seat we were on.

“Roxy.” Ven tossed him his phone randomly and I raised an eyebrow at the motion.

Roxas spun in his swivel chair and leaned back while lifting the phone in the air. At the same time he did this the girls beside me leaned towards the middle so Kairi’s face was close to one side and Xion the other. Kairi even put her hand around my shoulder while Sora stood up slightly just so his face could hover over our heads. Riku leaned back in his seat with a smirk.

“Cheese.” Roxas grinned and snapped a picture. The camera clicked multiple times before he spun back around and tossed the phone to Ven. Riku started the boat and I leaned over Ven’s shoulder slightly to take a peek.

The fact that these phones could take such good quality pictures on their own was incredible. My old communication device literally was only used for just that. Communication. It was shaped and looked like a brick and I couldn’t even contact people on other worlds without a special connection.

These phones did _everything_.

“Came out good.” Ven tilted the screen so I could see it better. He gave me a warm smile and his words filled me with a warmth of their own.

Riku slowly pulled the boat away from the dock and when he was in open water he let the engine roar. We were flying over the water, bouncing up with any waves that were hit. Xion leaned over to tell me the boat belonged to Riku’s family. Kairi leaned in to add a story about a time Sora crashed it onto the shore and was banned from ever driving it again.

The island’s coast was starting to become less populated with buildings and homes as we circled around. Eventually all we could see was jungle, rocky cliffs, and sandy shores. With the wind whipping my hair around and sea spray and laughter in the air, I felt absolutely light and free.

**++++**

Axel was leaning back in his seat, his legs propped up on the table in front of him, as his green eyes watched the small flame in his hand dance around his fingers. It flittered between them, brushing against his skin with each movement. The flame had a mind of its own. All Axel could do was nudge it in the direction he wanted it to go. At the end of the day though, fire would always do what fire wanted. That was the core of his element, after all.

Fire couldn’t be controlled or tamed.

Neither could he.

That simple truth is what made him stand out. He knew he was different; he knew that not everyone appreciated who he was. Hell, he knew there were rumors upon rumors about his behavior. Still, he never paid it mind before. Not until now.

“What is your problem?”

Axel lazily dragged his eyes away from the flame to stare at the person now standing in front of him. Long blue hair, judging icy blue eyes with a an ‘ _x’_ shaped scar between them, and a disapproving tilt to his lips.

“Now, that’s no way to greet your favorite person.” Axel retorted. Saix rolled his eyes and sat down. He was still wearing the black clothes of the uniform he used while off world so he must have only just gotten back. “How was your summer vacation? Went a little longer than normal. You missed week one.”

“It was fine.” Saix replied in his usual blunt manner. He didn’t seem eager to talk about the summer, but Axel attested that to the fact that Saix was currently too nosy about what was going on with him to want to talk about himself. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Why does something have to be wrong with me?”

“Because you only ever look that pensive and petulant when something is on your mind.”

Saix had him there. He knew he must have looked fairly broody sitting here on his own in the middle of one of the Institute’s lounges. This had just seemed like a convenient place to think since most students were out and about either enjoying the first weekend or training on their own.

Axel dropped his feet and extinguished the flame in his hand. His eyes lingered on his palm for a moment before meeting Saix’s curious look again. He knew exactly what was bothering him. It had been for the past few days, but he hadn’t voiced it aloud yet.

“This girl hates me.” Axel set his arms on the table and leaned down on his elbows.

Saix narrowed his eyes at him, “It’s only the first week, what have you done?”

Axel shook his head nonchalantly, “No, no, not like that. This girl, she was an Elemental bigot.”

“You’ve dealt with them before. Why is this bigot’s ignorance worse than the usual?”

It was a good question. Axel had seen shit like this before. People hating him simply for what he could do, for who he was. Most of the time he’d put them in their place and laugh it off. Like Saix had said, their ignorance was more entertaining than anything these days. The fact that they spent so much time hating what they didn’t understand, hating to simply hate. They spent their lives filled with it.

This had been different though. The look in the new girl’s eyes when she whipped around to glare at him. He could still picture it in his mind. The tenseness in her body, the clenched jaw and balled up fists. She looked at him with pure, seething hatred, but this hatred wasn’t the kind of ignorance and unknowing. This was a personal kind of hatred.

And Axel didn’t understand it.

**++++**

Riku had slowed the boat down as we got closer to one portion of the shore. This little piece of the island was just as beautiful as any of the other beaches I had seen, but this one was different in the sense that it was isolated both in people and land. It was a small beach nestled at the edge of the jungle. White sand stretched out for about a hundred yards across with jungle surrounding it at the back and sides. On the smaller beach, was a volleyball net, a covered fire pit, and a couple old, metal barrels.

Riku pulled the boat up to a wooden dock that jutted out over the water from a piece of the beach off to the side. The wood was thick but worn down. Like it had been here for ages. Riku stopped the boat and Roxas stood to jump on the dock so he could tie it up. Sora was already working on throwing bags off the boat onto the dock.

“If you toss my bag in the ocean like last time, Sora, we’re gonna fight.” Xion threatened with a laugh. Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and I watched as he lifted a duffel bag and carefully set it onto the dock unlike the other items.

Ven hopped off and offered his hand for Namine to help her onto the dock, he did the same for Xion, and then me while Kairi bounced off on her own. I bent over to scoop up my own bag then grabbed a few other items to help them. We all marched down the dock with our belongings, excitement buzzing around us. As soon as Sora’s feet hit the sand he came to a screeching halt.

“4th annual camping trip shotgun!” Sora dropped everything in his arms to the sand to dig through the cooler that Riku was carrying in his arms. At the digging, he nearly stumbled backwards but Namine put her hands up to hold him up. He whispered a thanks to her before dropping the cooler at Sora’s feet. Sora didn’t seem startled by this and only adjusted his position to dig better.

Kairi grinned and set down her surfboard and bag, “Nami and Xi aren’t big shotgunners, but do you wanna?”

Shotgunners? Like the weapon? I hadn’t meant to let the confusion slip onto my face or the word to slip from my mouth, but it happened anyways, “ _Shotgun_?”

“You’ve never shotgunned a beer before?” Kairi asked.

I shrugged, “Nope.”

Ven pointed at me as Sora handed him a can, “You watch how the pros do it and then later today me and you are shotgunning together.”

Namine and Xion stepped up next to me and I watched as Xion pulled out her phone to take a video. Sora passed out beer cans to Riku, Ven, Roxas, and Kairi in total before taking one for himself. My eyes narrowed as I watched Roxas use his keys to stab a hole in the bottom of his can before doing the same to Kairi’s and Ven’s. Riku used his own keys for his and Sora’s.

“Kairi is gonna beat them all and there’s a 75% chance Sora starts laughing and chokes.” Namine stage whispered to me.

“Not this time! Kairi, you’re going _down_.” Ven pointed at her and she just rolled her eyes. They stood in a line with the can in their hands ready to put the newly created hole to their mouths. Xion counted down and when she said ‘Go!’ they all cracked the top of the cans open and started to chug from the hole at the bottom of the can.

“Holy shit!” I cried and at my outburst Sora immediately snorted and began to choke on his beer. Kairi finished first, dropping the can to the ground to crush it, and Riku was right behind her. Roxas had stopped to beat on Sora’s back, and Ven came in last.

He scooped up the cans, “Son of a bitch.”

Riku high fived Kairi before everyone grabbed the stuff again and carried it further down the beach. Ven dragged an old metal barrel over to the area by the fire pit and put a garbage bag in before tossing the cans away. Kairi and Sora dug the ends of their surfboards into the sand, so they’d stand up. One surfboard was shaped just like Kairi’s, just a little bit longer, and was dark blue with red zig zags across it. The other was much longer, it was probably 9 feet tall, and pale yellow with white accents.

Namine and Xion had opened up the tent away from fire pit and closer to the jungle than the shore. I paused to pull off my tank top, leaving me in only my halter top and shorts, then moved to help them set it up. Ven and Riku set up 2 tents, both smaller than the girl’s tent, while Roxas had opened up the fold out camping chairs that had been brought along.

“Sunblock?” Kairi pulled a bottle from her bag. I typically didn’t burn in the sun. I didn’t know if it was a genetic thing or an elemental thing to be honest, but I took the bottle from her anyways and applied some to where my skin showed.

“Thanks.” I handed her back the bottle after she slipped off her jean shorts to reveal light pink bikini shorts with a white border and coated her legs in sunblock.

“No worries. I know better than most how much sunburn sucks.” She chuckled. Despite being a native from this world, her skin was on the fairer side. Most natural redheads were though, I suppose. She looked amazing though, with light freckles across the bridge of her nose that I wondered if she was born with or if they came from the sun. “Sora!”

He turned just as she threw him the sunblock and caught it with ease, “Thanks!”

I was tempted to slip out of my jeans like Kairi had, but since I didn’t plan on getting in the water yet I left them be. Riku, who had stripped out of his plain shirt, was sticking two, tall plastic poles into the sand about thirty feet across from each other.

“What is that for?” I stepped closer and asked Xion who had shimmied out of her dark shorts leaving her in a purple bikini with her gray tank top over it. Namine had left her hat and dress on as of now.

“Oh”, She grinned, “That’s for Beersbee.”

“ _Beersbee_?”

I swear to God these people were just making shit up now.

Riku must have overheard me because he scooped a red frisbee off the ground and threw it in my direction. I caught it with ease, and he walked over, “Yeah, it’s kind of a drinking game. It’s 2 vs 2. We put a bottle on top of each pole and your team has to throw a frisbee at the pole. You wanna knock the bottle off it, and if you’re playing defense you wanna catch the frisbee after it hits the pole or catch the frisbee and the bottle.”

I blinked twice in slight confusion.

“It’s really easy once you start to play.” Roxas reassured me from where he plopped down into one of the chairs by the firepit.

Ven jogged over to me, bare chested, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, “[Name] is on my team! And we’re going against Riku and whichever poor sap that wants to lose with Riku!”

“Kairi and I are gonna surf some now while the waves are still good.” Sora chirped with a simple thumbs up. He stood next to Kairi who was kneeling over her surfboard rubbing it with a white circle of some kind.

“Nami and I wanna soak up some sun, but we’ll help keep score.” Xion declined while helping Namine apply another layer of sunscreen on where her skin was exposed from the dress. Namine also looked like the kind that could burn very easy.

Roxas glanced around at everyone before groaning and leaning his head back, “ _Fuck_.”

Ven beamed and asked me what I wanted to drink. Apparently, another rule of the game was that you had to have a drink in one hand at all times. It made the whole ‘ _catching falling items’_ thing that much harder. I didn’t have a preference and when I voiced this Namine suggested I try the mango White Claw.

Roxas had pulled off his shirt and grabbed two drinks from the cooler while Riku put an empty glass bottle on top of their pole and then mine. Now they stood by the pole across from me each holding a can of something in their hands. Ven jogged back over with two drinks. He had placed my white can into a drink koozie, and he was drinking something else entirely.

“Ok, not to sound too dramatic, but if I lose to Riku and my twin I’m gonna have to _drown_ myself in the ocean tonight.” Ven said firmly and a snort of amusement left me. He grinned and handed me my drink, “So here’s the game plan. You focus on the bottle. I’ll catch the frisbee every time and if the bottle falls you catch that.”

“Got it.” I said firmly. My energy was bouncing in my chest with excitement. I loved games and contests. I loved competition. I loved it so much that sometimes I’d get a little carried away with myself. It was to the point where I worried that everyone here was going to think I was out of my mind when I lost myself in whatever we were playing. Because it was going to happen at some point today. Either during this little game or when we started playing volleyball. “When I throw the frisbee am I only allowed to hit the pole?”

“Hell, no. If you can hit that bottle, you knock it out.”

Riku chuckled and cupped his free hand by his mouth, “Hey [Name], when we kick your ass it isn’t personal to you, ok? We just love watching Ven lose.”

His words brought a smirk to my own face and I handed Ven my drink so I could tie the top half of my short hair into a small bun so it wouldn’t be in my face too much. Ven grinned and handed me back the drink and the frisbee.

“You guys ready?” I asked.

Roxas gave me a thumbs up, “Go ahead.”

I took the frisbee, kept myself behind our own pole like Ven said, and then threw it as hard as I could. The red frisbee hit the bottle dead on and both went flying back. Riku and Roxas didn’t even move to try and catch anything, instead they just stared at the bottle before staring at each other in shock.

“3 points for Team Sunglasses!” Namine called out while Xion whistled loudly.

Ven turned to me and leaned over, “Hey, will you marry me?”

I let out a loud laugh and the game really took off. Riku and Roxas were on guard now and completely focused. They didn’t let anything like that happen again. Roxas was better at throwing the frisbee than Riku was, his aim was deadly, but Riku was extremely good at catching both the bottle and frisbee. There was one round where he caught both himself.

If the bottle hit the sand we’d get two points, one point for the frisbee, and a total of three if both hit the ground. However, if the other team caught everything, which Riku and Roxas did often, then they’d get a single point. First to exactly 21 would win.

I didn’t hit the bottle any more times, but both Ven and I hit the pole every time. The game had progressed all the way to 18 and 17 with Riku and them in the lead.

“Here we go, strong defense right here, [Name].” Ven bounced from foot to foot with his hands outstretched in ready position. Roxas chuckled then took a sip of his drink. He threw the frisbee as hard as he could, and I knew the moment it left his hand that it was going to take out the bottle.

The red frisbee hit the top of the bottle, bouncing off at an angle while sending it flying, two quicksteps backwards wasn’t enough so I dove onto my back with my hand reaching as far as it could. It clasped around the glass bottle right before I hit the sand.

Xion and Namine went wild and I lifted my head up to see Ven on his ass holding the frisbee in his hands. We both yelled and jumped up still cheering. Ven ran forward and scooped me up into the hug where he pulled me off the ground. I continued cheering while pointing at Roxas and Riku with the bottle mockingly.

Yeah, I had gotten carried away, but everyone around me was just as into the game as I was.

“Suck it, Riku!” Ven yelled and dropped me back to my feet. He took the bottle and put it back onto the pole. It was his turn to throw the frisbee this time and we only needed 3 points to win now since we had gotten a point from catching both items. He motioned me to come closer which I did without hesitation. Ven lifted the frisbee to cover our faces, “Ok, I have an idea. You ready to win?”

“Born ready.” I replied and lifted my drink. We clinked cans and both took a swig. I wasn’t crazy about the White Claws, they were a little too carbonated for me, but what did I expect from an alcoholic seltzer? It was a light alcoholic item to drink in the hot sun though.

Ven waved the frisbee in the air letting Riku and Roxas know he was about to throw. Both guys got ready to catch anything they needed too, and I bit my lip in anticipation. Ven cocked his arm back then let the frisbee go as fast as he could.

At first, I had thought he missed when the frisbee veered away from the pole, but there was no question on Ven’s aim when I noticed it going straight for Riku’s head. Riku, who had been focused on the bottle not the frisbee, noticed last minute and threw his free hand up to catch the frisbee but it was too late to stop the momentum. The back of his hand hit his face and he stumbled into the pole knocking off the bottle and dropping the frisbee in the moment. Roxas, who hadn’t been watching the bottle, was too slow to grab it.

“And we win!” Ven announced while Namine and Xion laughed in the sand.

Riku jumped back up, tossing aside his drink, and sprinted at the laughing blond beside me. Ven cursed, threw his own drink at Riku, before taking off as fast as he could. It wasn’t fast enough, and he only got a few feet away before Riku tackled him into the shallow water.

Roxas saddled up beside me. I spared him a glance before focusing back on Riku and Ven, “This happen often?”

“Yeah, this is usually how Beersbee ends.” Roxas replied with a chuckle. He lifted his own White Claw to me, and I hit my can against his lightly before finishing the last of my drink.

Out further from the shore, Kairi and Sora were still surfing. Sora was sitting on his board yelling something out while Kairi was in the middle of a wave. Though I wasn’t an expert, it looked like she knew what she was doing. More than that, she looked _badass_. The wave wasn’t huge, but she rode it with someone who had spent more than just a summer out on the water. Her movements were quick as she cut through the way sending a spray up anytime, she did.

“Wow, she’s really good.”

Roxas nodded, “You should see Riku surf. He’s the one who uses the longboard”, Roxas pointed back to the board still standing in the sand, “It’s a different style, but pretty cool.”

The wave had died down and Kairi paddled back over to Sora who high-fived her. Then Sora paddled out and caught the next one. He was just as quick on his board but stood a little differently.

“Does it matter how you stand on a surfboard?” I looked away from Sora back to the boy beside me. He noticed my gaze and focused on me as well.

“Sort of.” Roxas positioned his feet in the sand, left food forward and right foot back, “So normally you surf with your left foot forward. Sora is goofy-footed.” He jumped and switched feet so now his right was forward, “It’s no big deal honestly. Here stand with your feet together and close your eyes.”

I followed his instructions and planted both my feet side by side then shut my eyes, “Now what?”

“Now I’m gonna push you.”

“ _Wha_ —?”

Roxas lightly pushed me and I stumbled forward with eyes open again. He pointed at my feet, “You used your left foot to catch yourself. So, if someone were teaching you they’d suggest putting that one in front.”

That was kind of interesting. I figured my right leg would be the one to do so since it was my dominant side. I chuckled and pointed my can at him, “Do you surf?”

“I have before a little, but I’m not crazy about it. I skateboard and the same foot rules apply to that.” Roxas shrugged. We both walked back towards where Namine and Xion were leaving Riku and Ven panting and lying in the sand from their wrestling/near drowning episode had ended.

Namine was lying on her back letting the sun soak into her skin. She had taken off her dress leaving her in a cute, maroon one piece. It had a v shaped neckline, thin straps, and tied in the middle in a small bow. I wondered what the back looked like.

Xion called out to us, “You guys want another drink?”

“Sure.” I nodded and she tossed me another White Claw, different flavor this time.

Xion and Namine had laid out a few towels to lounge on with a colorful umbrella covering part of it. I walked over and sat by Namine who was in the sun while Xion bounced back and sat down in the shade. Roxas sat down by me and the four of us talked about class for about ten minutes before Ven walked over with Kairi, both soaking wet. Riku was off to the side rubbing his board like Kairi had.

“Roxas, I’m gonna take a break. You wanna swim out? The waves are clean today.”

He shrugged and stood up leaving his drink half buried in the sand between two towels, “Yeah, sure. Thanks, Kairi.”

Ven scooped up Roxas’ leftover drink and dropped down to sit by Xion. He immediately began to shake his head like a dog sending cold water over all of us. Xion, who was closest, squealed and shoved him away, “ _Ven_!”

He just laughed and took a swig of his drink. Kairi sat down next to me with a drink of her own and unzipped her long sleeve crop top to reveal a normal bathing suit that matched her bottoms. The conversation had continued where we left off with now Ven and Kairi adding their own input.

I zoned out while they talked about some TV show that Ven refused to watch with them. It was easy to do with the heat of the sun nestled on my skin and the sound of cheerful conversation buzzing around me. I felt at peace.

Fingers snapped in front of my face, startling me, and I glanced up to see Ven standing up offering me his hand, “Come on, let’s go.”

“Go?” I questioned, but still took his hand. He pulled me up and began to drag me away. I gave the girls a quick wave goodbye then focused on him. Ven led me down to the dock without saying a word about what was going on. It didn’t dawn on me until I watched him pull fishing gear out from a compartment on the boat. It was a bucket, a closed box of some kind, and two tall fishing poles.

“Come on, we gotta catch dinner.” Ven grinned and handed me the poles to hold.

“I’ve never actually fished before.” I admitted and followed him to the end of the dock.

“Don’t worry, it’s easy.”

I watched as he prepped both poles, checking the clear lines and then putting something slimy as bait on the ends of the hooks. Ven handed me one of the poles before showing me how to cast the reel. He did his first, throwing the bait far out into the water then watched as I did mine. It didn’t go as far, but he was pleased none the less.

“If you feel a tug then reel it in quick, otherwise you don’t have to do anything. The waves will do it for us.” Ven sat down and I took the spot beside him. The sound of clicking from our reels turning was all that could be heard for a moment before Ven spoke up, “So are you having fun?”

“I really am.” I answered honestly. There had been a small part of me that thought maybe this wouldn’t be very fun, or it would be awkward because I hadn’t known any one for long, but that wasn’t the case. “I’m really glad you guys invited me.”

Ven shrugged, “Of course. You’re stuck with us now.”

I chuckled and reeled in my line just do have something to do with my hands, “I’m not sure I’m the one stuck.”

Ven shot me a glance then cleared his throat, “So can I ask how you met Auron? I mean, have you known him a while or did he really just go to the outer rim worlds shopping for a daughter?”

I snorted at the thought before nodding, “I’ve known Auron basically my whole life.” I paused only to get the story straight in my head. The White Claws were weak, but it had been a while since I drank, and my tolerance was low. The last thing I needed was to slip up. “He was a family friend. He’s been taking care of me since my parents died.”

Ven stiffened beside me, but I didn’t comment on it, he hesitated and I knew it was because he wanted to ask more questions but wasn’t sure how far he could go. With how hot and cold I had been over the past week, it made sense that he didn’t want to overstep his bounds.

“I lost them when I was 14.”

“I’m so sorry, [Name]. I couldn’t even imagine.”

I gave him a smile to try and reassure him. Ven didn’t deserve to look so sad. The frown wasn’t like him. I shook my head, “It was… It was a _really_ long time ago.”

“Our mom lives in Midgar, which I think you know.” Ven spoke up. “Cloud was born in Nibelheim, but Mom moved to Midgar right before Roxas and I were born. So, we grew up there. Our dad, well, we didn’t really know him. He left when Roxas and I were babies. Neither of us remember anything about him.” He shrugged nonchalantly, but there was something in his voice that told me he cared more than he let on. “Cloud remembers him. He doesn’t like talking about dad though. We stopped bringing it up.”

“I’m sorry.” I said sincerely.

Ven forced a chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck with one free hand, “It’s not the same as…”

“Pain is pain.” I replied. Ven’s smile returned, but it was softer now. He nodded once in agreement and I tried to change the topic a bit, “So why does your mom live in Midgar and not here with you guys?”

“Oh, she used to live here with us! Back when Cloud was at the Academy.” Ven answered with ease, “She got a really good job offer back in Midgar though, and around then Cloud was going to start at the Institute so he could take care of us—well, Cloud has always taken care us, I should say that at the time he was now _legally_ allowed to watch us without mom living there with us.”

I smiled at the thought of Cloud helping raise him and his twin. Cloud had told me they were almost 4 years apart. Anytime he talked about the twins he always had a happy look on his face. The brothers were close. I knew that.

“Cloud used to talk about you guys a lot.” I chuckled. There was a pause in conversation when Ven had something on his line and reeled it in, but all he pulled up was an empty hook with missing bait. He put another piece of bait on and had me reel my own line in to change out the bait. After we cast our lines back out, I spoke up, “I already said thanks for inviting me, but… thanks for this past week too.” It felt like I owed him that apology. I owed all them this apology. “I know I was kind of wishy washy-”

Ven grinned, “No apology needed.”

“Ven-”

“For real.” He nudged me with his elbow, “We know… Cloud told us that your time in the outer rim worlds wasn’t very great.” I trusted that Cloud gave them the basic, vague cover story we had agreed on. “You don’t have to worry anymore though. You’re safe here, you’re safe with us.”

And right now, sitting at the end of a dock with my toes skimming the water and a fishing pole in hand, that’s exactly how I felt.

**++++**

A few hours had passed since we got here and we had spent them in and out of the water, drinking and not drinking. Riku and Namine were fishing like Ven and I had earlier right now and hopefully they would have more luck then us since we had caught absolutely nothing.

Xion and Ven were standing in waist deep water drinking and talking.

Kairi, Sora, Roxas, and I on the other hand were midway through a game of volleyball. It was Kairi and Roxas versus me and Sora, and just like with Beersbee I wasn’t the only one getting super into the game. We went back and forth with the ball and with our words before Kairi and Roxas earned the last point ending the game.

“ _Nooooo_!” Sora cried dramatically before falling back into the sand with his arms outstretched.

I sat down beside him trying to bite back a grin and failing, “Sorry, Sora.”

“Don’t be.” He quickly sat up and wrapped his arm around my shoulders pulling me into his side. He clenched his other fist like he was about to give the most inspirational of all inspirational speeches, “We did all we could. It isn’t our fault Kairi played volleyball in middle school and at the Academy.”

Roxas and Kairi came over. I smiled at Kairi “I didn’t know the school had a volleyball team.”

“Volleyball, Football, and Soccer.” Roxas replied and offered me his hand. He pulled me up to my feet, “We used to have a baseball team, but it got cut due to funding. Don’t bring it up to Ven, he’s still bitter about it.”

Kairi offered her hand to Sora but he only yanked her down to him with a laugh. I was surprised to see them so chummy with each other. Granted, I was still new to this little group, but I had heard that Kairi and Sora had a history. They’ve dated a few times and the past time Kairi had just broken up with him over the summer. Things had seemed tense to begin with at school from what I had seen, but now they seemed close as ever.

I walked back over to the firepit, where Riku and Namine were now, with Roxas. He didn’t offer clarification of Sora and Kairi, and I didn’t ask. That was something I’d get from Kairi if I ever brought it up to her in the future.

Ven and Xion walked up from the ocean. Xion jogged over when she got close, “Hey! We should take the picture now before we forget!”

“Oh, you’re right.” Namine snapped her fingers and called over Sora and Kairi.

“Every year we take a group picture to match the first one we ever took on this beach.” Roxas leaned over to tell me, “It’s kind of a tradition.”

I nodded in understanding and watched as they cleared away the towels and chairs from a section of sand, “Do you want me to take it for you?”

“Take it _for_ us?” Ven cried in disbelief and lightly pushed his knuckles against my forehead, “You’re gonna be _in_ it, dummy.”

“I wasn’t in the other ones though. Really, it’s ok. I wouldn’t mind taking it.” I argued. This was their thing to do, one of their traditions, and I didn’t want to intrude in on it. That wouldn’t be right of me or fair for them.

Kairi shook her head at me and grabbed her phone, “We _want_ you in it, silly. You’re part of the gang!”

“ _Paopu Squad_ for _life_!” Sora yelled through cupped hands.

Riku flinched at the volume since he had been standing right beside him, “Really?”

Sora gave him a sheepish smile, “I’ve had a _lot_ of white claws, I’m not gonna lie.”

Kairi showed me her phone where she had pulled up a past picture. Roxas, Namine, and Riku stood on their knees in the middle. Namine had her hands up in two peace signs held by her face while Roxas and Riku held their arms out to hold Xion. She was on her side in their arms with her head propped on her hands. Behind them, Ven was standing while flexing his arms. The same sunglasses on and baseball cap on his head. Next to him Sora grinned with Kairi on his back with her arms outstretched in the air. This must have been the first one they ever took because they all looked much younger.

“Alright, let’s do this.” Xion said. I looked up from the phone to see Roxas, Namine, and Riku were already kneeling on the sand, their backs to the ocean. Xion fell back into Roxas and Riku’s arms with a laugh.

Roxas shook his head, he was the one closet to her face, “You’re way too trusting, you know that? One of these days we’re gonna drop you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Xion stuck her tongue out at him. Sora stood behind Riku bouncing in place while Kairi set up her phone on the firepit.

“Well, let’s go then.” Ven said and suddenly scooped me up into his arms. I let out a cry of surprise and wrapped my arm around his neck to keep from falling. I lightly hit him in the chest with a laugh. He just shook his head making the sunglasses that had been sitting on top of his hat fall onto his face, “Come on, we’re _besties_ now, [Name].”

I rolled my eyes and pulled my sunglasses out of my salty, tangled hair and over my eyes. Ven carried me over to the group and stood in his usual place behind Roxas. Kairi glanced over at us to make sure we were ready then hit a button on her phone. She ran over to a crouching Sora and jumped on his back. He immediately stood back up and she threw her hands up. I kept one arm around Ven’s neck but held the other out much like Kairi did.

“ _Cheese_!” Sora yelled loudly while wearing the broadest grin I had ever seen. I laughed along with the others while the phone clicked multiple times.

Xion rolled off her friend’s arms and ran over to check the phone. She grinned and gave us a thumbs up, “It came out perfect!”

“It’s official then.” Ven said to me, reminding me of what he had said earlier, as he set me down.

I chuckled, “You guys really are stuck with me now.”

“And we wouldn’t have it any other way.” Namine replied sweetly before looping her arm through mine and dragging me to the ocean. Kairi and Xion followed, both holding two drinks each to share with us.

We waded into the water until it fell right below our chests. The waves had calmed and now they just lightly bobbed us back and forth in the water, barely even noticeable. The water was cool against my skin, but not too cold as to make me uncomfortable.

“Here.” Kairi handed me a drink. We stood in a loose circle with space between us, Kairi to my left and Namine to my right. She raised her drink and we all followed suite, “Cheers to new additions to old traditions!”

My heart warmed at the words as the others replied with their own cheers. We clinked our cans and took a sip. I had been worried about getting to know these girls. They had known each other for so long, basically growing up together, I assumed they’d all be alike, and I wasn’t sure how I’d fit in with them. Seeing them now though, I saw they were very, very different and it was these differences that made them so close.

Kairi was the athletic one. She was sporty, loud, and blunt. It made sense why too. She grew up on the island with two boys as her best friends. Kairi wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and I knew that when I watched her beat all the boys while shotgunning and when she tackled Ven in the sand to wrestle him after he took the last mango White Claw and mocked her for it.

Namine was the mom friend. She was soft and sweet and caring. She was the artsy kind which is why while Kairi brought her surfboard on the camping trip, Namine brought her sketchbook. From the few pages I saw she was amazing at it too. She was the most soft spoken of everyone here on the island and had a motherly instinct. She was the one who comforted Ven and his bruised ego when Kairi kicked his ass and took the last mango white claw.

Xion, on the other hand, had fallen somewhere in between them. She was sweet with her words while talking to me or Roxas, but she had no hesitation is shooting back snark when Riku called out for it. Her passions fell in music and photography. Our entire time here, Xion had been the one most often snapping pictures or videos on her phone and she explained that she had a program on her computer to help her edit them. I was already impressed with phones taking pictures, but the ones she showed me blew me away.

The three girls were unique and from what I saw there was really only one thing they all had in common that brought them together.

They _loved_ each other.

**++++**

Today had been the most fun I’ve had since… well, since maybe ever. Even back during our breaks from missions, I had never been able to relax like this. To completely let go of any worries in the back of my mind and just enjoy the moment. As I sat in the sand, leaning against Kairi’s legs while she sat in a fold out chair playing with my hair, I stared out at the horizon with a soft smile. Namine was leaning her back against my left side while she drew in the sketchbook she brought with her while Ven rested his head on my right thigh with his baseball cap covering his face from the light. Just like Kairi was combing through my hair with her fingers, twisting them in short braids before undoing them again, I was letting my fingers play with the ends of Ven’s own hair.

Roxas and Xion were playing Beersbee against Sora and Riku and watching them play was nearly as entertaining as playing myself. Xion hit the pole with the frisbee and I chuckled when Riku and Sora, who were both focused on catching the bottle, crashed into one another.

“Sunset will be here soon. We should swim out.”

Kairi’s words made my breath catch in my throat and my fingers to freeze in Ven’s hair. The three around me didn’t seem to notice, and Namine hummed in agreement, “Will we all fit on the boards this time?”

“Kairi can take you and [Name] on her board. Roxas and I can share Sora’s board with Xion, and then Sora can ride out with Riku.” Ven said, then he lifted his hat to grin at Kairi over my shoulder, “As long as you’re ok with Sora and Riku sharing that romantic moment together.”

I could hear Kairi chuckle, but she reached down and shoved the hat onto Ven’s face as he laughed. Namine giggled as well, but I was still stuck on the sunset part.

The sun was setting.

That shouldn’t have been a surprise, I knew it did that on the regular, but for today I hadn’t even thought about it. Sunsets were easy to avoid when you could sit in the living room and bury your face into a book or phone. Sitting out on the beach though, there was no spot I could hide from it. Would my new friends be able to see how a simple sunset shook me to my core? Would they notice the dread and fear I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide?

“You guys wanna ride out now?” Riku called out as he walked toward us. The game must have ended. I didn’t even get to see who had won out in the end.

Ven sat up and glanced at me. He mistook my worry for confusion, and slipped his hat onto my head, “The sunsets here are spectacular. We always ride out on the boards and watch from the water.”

“Oh.” It was the only reply I could get to come out.

Ven helped me up before moving to grab another drink for himself. Sora grabbed another drink as well, for him and Kairi, and then began to try and plan out who would be on which board. Could I come up with an excuse? They had seen me out in the water already so I couldn’t lie and say I just didn’t like being in the ocean. Plus, if I did, they might just say they’ll all watch it from the shore and that wouldn’t help me. It would just ruin their tradition for them.

“Actually, I told [Name] I’d show her the waterfall and cave.” Roxas suddenly spoke up and I nearly cracked my neck whipping around to look at him. He came to stand beside me, “I told her I would earlier, but forgot.”

“Right now?” Xion asked.

“We could always go tomorrow morning before we leave.” Kairi shrugged.

I didn’t quite know why or how Roxas knew to throw me a lifeline, especially since we hadn’t talked about this cave before, but I quickly grabbed it regardless, “I was really hoping to see it now. But you guys go ahead and watch the sunset.”

Riku glanced from me to Roxas then smirked and nodded, “Yeah, alright. Xion, you can ride with me. Sora can take Namine, and then sorry Kairi that means you’re stuck with Ven.”

“Listen here _you little shit_ —”

“Well damn, why me?” Kairi crossed her arms.

Ven spun around to stare at her in disbelief, “ _Et tu, brut_??”

“Calm down, _Ceaser_ , you make it too easy.” Kairi chuckled and dug her elbow playfully into his side. Ven wrapped his arms around her, picking her up, and she squealed as he carried her to the boards.

Roxas nudged me with his hand and I followed after him towards the tent. He scooped up his t-shirt and slipped it on over his head, “You might wanna put on shoes.” I followed his example, putting my tank top and shoes back on, while he slipped on his book bag. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” I grabbed readjusted Ven’s hat which I was still wearing and followed him toward the jungle’s edge. We walked for a couple minutes and the entire time my eyes didn’t leave the sky. I couldn’t focus on the jungle around me because I was too distracted watching the colors start to shift. Roxas’ pace slowed, and this was the only reason why my focus shifted to the sight in front of me.

My jaw fell slack at the waterfall he had mentioned. Ahead of me was a pool of light blue water with various stones and small waterfalls building up to the stony side of a cliff where water poured into the topmost part of the pool of water. Behind said waterfall was an indent in the stone that seemed to go down and I assumed that was the entrance to the cave.

“This is _incredible_.” I breathed. I didn’t even know something like this existed on the island. I took a few extra steps forward so my sandaled feet touched the cool water.

Roxas grinned, “I know. Come on.”

He motioned for me to follow him again and we circled around the body of water to where the ground turned into dark brown rock. Roxas led me across where the smaller waterfalls were and based off the way he was confident in his steps this was obviously a path he had taken many times before. The stones were slippery where the current went over the rocks, and I had to be cautious not to lose my footing. Roxas offered me his hand halfway through when he noticed my footwear didn’t quite have the same grip as his. Minutes later we stood at the base of the waterfall and I chuckled as the roar of the water filled my ears and the water’s spray sprinkled over my face.

“You ready?” Roxas offered me his hand again. I nodded and put my hand in his. He counted down and then we ran through the biggest space between the waterfalls. Still, water pelted us, and I could feel my tank top soak it all up. We now stood behind the curtain of water at the mouth of a dark cave.

Roxas dug through his book bag and pulled out a handheld, electric lantern. As we took the first few steps in my racing heart calmed at the lack of light other than what Roxas held. There was no sunset here in the darkness of the cave. Only me, Roxas, and the dim yellow light between us. Now that the panic was gone though, I couldn’t help but wonder how he knew. Had Cloud warned him before the trip of my irrational fear?

“Hey Roxas?”

“Yeah?” He replied after warning me to stay close and watch my feet. The dark stone around us was open enough that I didn’t feel suffocated, but the rocks below my feet were uneven and only got worse when we started to gradually slope down.

I stared at the back of his head as he led the way, “How did you know?”

Roxas paused a step so I could help me down one of the rocks that had a bit of a steep step down, “Know what?”

“How did you know that I don’t like sunsets?”

“ _Sunsets_? Wait— _wait_ , you don’t like _sunsets_?” Roxas shook his head with furrowed eyebrows. I blinked at him in surprise. There was no way this was a coincidence. The blond shrugged at me, “I thought you were getting overwhelmed being around all us? I mean, it seemed like you were doing really good today, but I thought you maybe needed some time away from the group.”

I chuckled and shook my head with a grin, “No. Not at all. I _love_ you guys. Today was the most fun I’ve had in my entire life, Roxas.”

Roxas’ confusion briefly turned into a warm smile at my words. I gave him a shrug of my own and we continued walking deeper into the cave. He broke the silence this time, “Can I ask why you don’t like sunsets?”

I paused, going over the pros and cons in my head of answering, but any arguments I made to myself were tossed away when he gave me a look of concern. I tried to smile, but God knows if it read the way I wanted, “Have you ever… You know when something terrible happens, and all of a sudden the simplest thing can remind you of it?” Roxas nodded once and I kept going. “That’s what a sunset is for me. It’s not the sunset itself that bothers me, it’s the memory tied to it.”

Without meaning to, flashes of Jax started to flitter through my mind. His sickly smile, the cold metal of his blade against my warm skin, the—

“I can’t listen to the song ‘ _Party Like a Rockstar’_ anymore.”

The words gave me mental whiplash, “W-What?”

Roxas walked slowly beside me, the cave had leveled out and the ground was smoother now. The look on his face was that of amusement and a soft smile, “So when we were all in the 7th grade we used to go to school on the mainland. I mean, you must have noticed Destiny Islands only has the Academy and the Institute. So, we lived on the Island with our mom since Cloud was in the Academy, but we had to go to school on the mainland. Anyways”, He took a breath and rubbed the back of his head, “It was near the end of the year and some popular girl was going to throw a house party. Not a birthday party or holiday party, this was just some random party with our class, and it was Ven and I’s first.”

Ven was a good storyteller, he always had the excitement to keep you reeled in, but Roxas was just as good in my opinion. His voice was calming and easy to listen to.

“So we go to this party, everyone is there, and because we’re all stupid 7th graders”, Roxas scoffed and I chuckled at his tone, “We decide to play ‘ _7 Minutes in Heaven’_.” I didn’t want to interrupt him only to question the game, but Roxas picked up on my confusion and answered in a non-judgmental tone, “It’s this really, _really_ stupid kissing game. Two people end up in a closet together and they have to basically make-out or whatever for 7 whole minutes.”

“Ok.” I nodded, following along closely.

“Well, it’s my turn. I pick a card, 3 of hearts, and low and behold the most popular girl in our grade, the one hosting this party, has a 3 of diamonds.” Roxas chuckled. “Since we both had red threes we go into the closet together. Now, that _stupid_ song has been playing randomly on and off through the party and it just so happens to come on again while we go into the closet. Even with the door closed I could still hear it.”

I didn’t want to tell him that I didn’t recognize the song. Honestly, it didn’t seem like I really needed to know it to understand his story.

Roxas sighs, “So I’m already nervous because this is going to be my first kiss and it’s the prettiest girl in class. Hell, I’m worried she won’t even want to kiss me once we’re in the closet.”

He paused again and I nudged him, “Well, what happened??”

“The moment the door clicks shut she basically tackles me. Instead of a cute kiss, I get her licking my face trying to shove her tongue down my throat.” He shudders and I can’t help but laugh. He grins and I take this as a sign that I can really let all my laughter out. Roxas shakes his head, “Now every time I hear that song, I think of Olivia Bryans and that _awful_ kiss.”

“That is tragic.” My laughs died down to chuckles. Roxas just chuckled alongside me. This was the distraction I had needed, and it had come from an unexpected source. I mean, I knew he was a good guy and I knew that I wanted to be his friend, but I wouldn’t have guessed that he could put me at ease like this.

“Yeah, you sound _real_ sad for me.” Roxas came to a stop suddenly and I gave him a curious look. He just smiled in response, “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?”

Roxas stepped closer to me and turned off the lantern. The light shut off and the afterglow burned out leaving us in complete darkness. If my hands sparked now then it’d be so noticeable. However, my energy felt at peace right now. I wasn’t worried.

Light did begin to appear, but it wasn’t from me.

Slowly, all around us, things began to come to life. The entire cave around us had plant life everywhere that was now glowing in the dark with shades of pastel blue, green, and accents of pink. The room was taller than it was wide with a body of water in the corner that had plant life giving off a glow as well.

“Wow.” I breathed in disbelief. It was absolutely gorgeous. Glowing vines going up the cave walls from the brush filled with flowers. Roxas pulled me a few more steps into the cave to look around. The far back side had another opening where I assumed the cave continued to wind around.

Roxas sat down in the dirt and I dropped down beside him. He leaned his elbows against his knees, “I’ve seen a lot of sunsets. Hell, I spent a summer on a world that was in a perpetual sunset.” He chuckled, “I wouldn’t put Twilight Town on your travel itinerary ever.”

“Thanks for the tip.” I shifted to bump my shoulder into his.

“What I’m trying to say is Destiny Island’s sunsets aren’t super special.” He turned to look at me and the glow made his eyes look even brighter. “The sunrises are better.”

I pulled my knees up to hug them and then rested my chin on top of them. We sat in silence, soaking in the glow from the cave around us. Roxas bringing me here, in my mind, had put me forever in his debt.

The sound of instruments and a male voice singing the word ‘ _yeah_ ’ multiple times startled me and I glanced over to see Roxas holding his phone up with a tight lip smile, amusement in his eyes, “I thought you needed to fully appreciate what I had to go through in that closet.”

 _‘Totally dude! Party like a rock—Party like a Rockstar._ ’ The obnoxious words and tune bounced around the cave walls mingling with our laughter. I could get used to a life like this.


	7. bearer of bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Nothing travels faster than the speed of light, with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.”   
> –Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)

**++++**

The last time Auron met with Barrett it had been in a sketchy bar on a smaller outer rim world in the middle of nowhere nearly 10 years ago. The bar had been dark, musty, and tiny. Maybe only 12 people would’ve been able to fit in the bar shoulder to shoulder and that was only if 12 people even knew it existed. The bartender had been surly, and the drinks had been strong. If one knew Barrett Wallace, they’d be able to see that the bar was _more_ than fitting for the gruff man. Since the day they met, Barrett had been known as the muscle in their squadron. He didn’t put up with bullshit and he was quick to throw a punch. In fact, that last time Auron had met him Barrett had gotten them thrown out of said bar for punching the bartender.

As Auron stood in the colorful and loud room, confetti and streamers raining over his head, he contemplated the irony of it all.

He also craved a strong drink.

Barrett was standing beside the long table holding his phone to record the scene as the mob of children sang _‘Happy Birthday’_ to the little girl sitting in at the head of the table in front of the large and radiantly lit birthday cake. A plastic crown was nestled in the girl’s chestnut brown hair and the smile on her face was brighter than the candles she was preparing to blow out. The song ended and Auron clapped along with the crowd as Marlene blew out her candles.

He watched as the now 7-year-old little girl was scooped up off the ground by Barrett’s metallic prosthetic hand to be pulled into a tight hug. Barrett kissed the top of her head before setting her down. She immediately ran off into the mass of children.

If 10 years ago someone had told Barrett that he was going to one day be spending his days in a pizza serving, play place for little children celebrating the birthday of his _daughter_ , Auron was sure he would’ve crushed them with zero hesitation.

It’s funny how the world worked.

Auron hadn’t met Marlene or Denzel in person yet, both had been with Barrett for the past 5 years, but he had spoken to them over video chats numerous times. When he asked to meet Barrett, he hadn’t planned on it being during Marlene’s birthday party. He felt bad that he would be distracting Barrett away from Marlene for any amount of time today.

Auron waited by the wall silently and the looks he was getting from some of the random parents around him made him feel like this was the worst place to stand around waiting. He shifted in his stance, but before he could step outside Barrett’s booming voice greeted him.

“ _Braska_!” He cheered in good nature, his arms outstretched making him look even larger than he already was. “You don’t gotta stand around like an outcast, come get some cake!”

Auron shook his head, “You didn’t tell me I’d be meeting you at Marlene’s birthday party. I would’ve seen you another day.”

Barrett waved off his concern with a laugh, “Don’t be ridiculous. Marlene is too busy with her friends to even notice I stepped away. Besides, this _must_ be important if you came all the way out here to see me.”

“It’s news I felt should be delivered in person.”

Barrett’s face morphed into one of curiosity before motioning for Auron to follow him toward a small empty table. He sat down first, Auron following his lead. Barrett flexed his metal hand once, the gleaming silver contrasting against his dark skin.

“Still giving you trouble?” Auron pressed.

Barrett scoffed, “Hardly. Just sticks on occasion. I get busy and forget to keep it updated. If Highwind saw the state it was in he’d blow a gasket, the old bastard.”

“Did Marlene get the present I sent?”

“Yeah, and she loved the puzzle from her Uncle Auron.” Barrett answered skeptically. Auron had never been the kind to beat around the bush, but this was beating around the bush if he had ever seen it.

“And Denzel?”

Now, Barrett _knew_ Auron was hesitating about the real topic and was tempted to call him out on it now, but the conversation switch was one he did want to talk about. The large man heaved a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, “Denzel… He’s doing _much_ better. I’ve been keeping up with the treatments and he’s been handling them well, but there are still good days and bad days.” Barrett glanced over his shoulder where Marlene bounced around a taller brunet boy with a small smile on his pale features. “Today is a good day.”

“You took him to the expert I recommended?”

“Yeah, I did. Lady was a _Godsend_.” Barrett’s voice held real relief and thankfulness, “You don’t know what that meant to me, Braska.”

Auron nodded his head at Barrett. It had been nothing. Barrett had needed help and Auron had acted on that, he hadn’t even had to go very much out of the way to get it done. Just a simple call to an old friend.

Barrett suddenly leaned forward and gave him a curious look, “I want you to meet both of them before you go, but I know that’s not the main reason why you’re here. What’s going on, man?”

There were two people in the universe, other than him, that deserved to know about [Name]. Cid Highwind had been one, and Barrett Wallace was the other. The entire old squadron would be happy to hear of the news, but as far as Auron was concerned the only people from the old days who _should_ know the truth consisted of these two men and himself. In fact, Auron should’ve told Barrett sooner.

“I found Merlin.” Auron said simply. Barrett’s face fell as the words rattled in his head. He didn’t reply so Auron continued, “She’s back.”

Barrett shook his head, “ _Don’t_. Don’t you do this. Is she back or are you just on another pipe dream? A new _scheme_ and _plan_ you’ve cooked up? I’m not getting drawn in again—not getting _hurt_ -”

“She’s _back_.” Auron replied firmly while also pulling his phone out. He opened the pictures [Name] had texted him a few days ago of the camping trip and held it out for Barrett to look. The man took the phone and held it tenderly in his hand, his fingers not even wrapping around it entirely. “The others are students from the Academy she’s gotten to know. They went on a beach camping trip.”

Barrett opened his mouth only to close it with a shake of his head. His lips pressed together tightly, the start of tears brimming at his eyes, before slowly turning into a smile, “You actually did it. You brought her back and she’s… she looks…”

“17 years passed for her as well, but it… it affected her differently.” Auron sighed. This was the part of the story he didn’t like sharing, the part he hated to voice aloud or think of again. He leaned forward, keeping his voice low. Barrett had set down his phone, but his hand found the side of the table instead and as Auron said more and more, his hand tightened and tightened. By the end of the story, the thin metal table was dented with the form of Barrett’s fingers, his tears had dried up to be replaced with a burning anger.

“That _motherfucker_.” Barrett snapped. A mother holding a young child gasped as she passed and gave the two of them the dirtiest look she could form. Barrett, who either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care, cursed again while Auron shot the mother an apologetic look. “I knew all of this was a bad idea. We should’ve beat the _shit_ out of that bastard Jax when we had the chance and we sure as _hell_ shouldn’t have let her go through that _damned_ portal!”

“It’s too late to contemplate that.” Auron shook his head, though he agreed wholeheartedly, “She’s doing much better than when she first came back. [Name] has friends now, she doesn’t fight anymore… she’s taking the steps necessary to recover.”

Barrett let out a chuckle, but it still sounded sad, “She gets a second chance. A second chance at _all_ of it. Good. If anyone deserves it, it’s _her_.”

“I should’ve told you sooner. I wanted to bring her along with me, so you could _see_ her.” Auron grabbed his phone and slid it back into his pocket, “Now that she’s getting adjusted to being back in school and around these new friends though, I didn’t want to jeopardize that by pulling her out.”

Barrett nodded once, “You made a good call there. I’m still surprised you even got her to go to school.”

“It wasn’t without effort.”

“That sounds right.” Barrett chuckled. He glanced over at the crowd of kids briefly before looking back to Auron, “Does Lulu know?”

Auron shook his head, “No. It didn’t seem wise, not with everything and everyone she’s still involved with. I’d be too concerned that…”

“No, no, it’s a valid concern. Lulu shouldn’t know.” Barrett agreed with a slight shrug. He sighed, “Sucks that I gotta admit that, but realistically…”

“It can’t be risked.”

Barrett forced his grin back, “So tell me, she still a little spitfire?”

Auron chuckled at his words. [Name] still had her fire, it could be seen anytime she sassed him or shot a retort back to Cid without hesitation. Hell, it could still be seen in her eyes when a smirk crossed her face. There was a softness there now though. One he had never seen before until he saw her interact with Cloud at the cabin. He thought it might be born of just fear and hesitance and he was sure it would slowly disappear, but even thick-skulled Cid had noticed it to this day. Auron had just talked to him over the phone last night, and Cid himself had mentioned that when [Name] was around her newly found friends she was softer. She smirked less and smiled more, and this time the emotion actually reached her eyes.

It didn’t always do that back in the day.

“I think you’d be surprised.”

**++++**

Today was my first morning running on the beach without the sun beating down on me. At some point last night, a cover of clouds had rolled in and now the Islands were faced with what seemed like the first cloudy day of the summer. If the weather was anything like I remembered it to be, then it’d rain sometime this afternoon and once the rain was over the sky would clear up for another few days. Still, this looked like it might be the start of monsoon season starting up early.

I used the cloth armband around my forearm to swipe away the sweat along my forehead as I ran. Despite the sun not being out, the humidity mixed with my 3-mile exertion was bringing the sweat on.

“Hey, stranger!”

I slowed my pace to a jog and glanced over my shoulder to see Zack catching up to me on the beach. He was shirtless and had a shine of sweat on him just like I did. This wasn’t the first time I had seen him since Cloud introduced us. After coming back from the beach camping trip, I had run into him every once in a while, on campus, but we never did more than just a little small talk. He didn’t usually run on this beach, or at least not at this time, since this was the first time I was seeing him.

“Hey, Zack. How’re you doing?”

“Good, good! You look like you’re getting a good run in. Come here often?” Zack held his hands out around him, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

I nodded, “I’m actually a regular. You seem to be a new face though?”

Zack gave me a quick thumbs up, “I usually run in the afternoon, but it’s probably gonna storm so I figured I’d knock it out this morning. If I knew running at”, He checked the athletic watch on his wrist, “6:45 AM had such good company though I’d have switched out ages ago.”

“Kairi said you were a charmer.” I wagged a finger at him jokingly.

Zack gasped in mock surprise, “Hang on, someone had to _tell_ you? It wasn’t just obvious on its own? That means we don’t hang out enough.”

“We should fix that then!” I replied. Of all the friends that Cloud introduced me to, I had hung out with Yuffie the most followed closely by Tifa and Aerith. Yuffie had been the one to reach out the most to hang out this past week though. Still, the people I spent the absolute most time with was the self-named _‘Paopu Squad’_. It helped that I saw them in school all day, but I truly enjoyed the time I spent with them. “I’d love to hang out with you some more!”

Zack’s grin grew in size, “Oh yeah?”

“Of course.” I shrugged. It wasn’t a lie. Zack was a fun guy from what I’ve seen so far, and he was always able to make me laugh pretty easily. Plus, he was a good friend of Cloud, and I trusted Cloud’s judgement entirely.

“I’m glad you feel that way.” Zack picked up his pace a step so he was closer to me as we spoke, “And hey, I heard you have a birthday coming up!”

My eyes widened in surprise, “Huh? Yeah, it is actually. Um, this Thursday.”

“Only three days away, you gotta be so excited!”

“I mean, it’s just a birthday.” I chuckled, “How did—How did you hear about it?”

Zack replied without missing a beat, “Cloud mentioned it. And Yuffie. And I heard Sora mention it when I was over at Leon’s house the other day.”

I blinked in surprise. Were that many people really talking about my birthday? It wasn’t that big of a deal after all, and I had stressed that to anyone who had mentioned it to me. In fact, when Cloud had asked me about it a few days ago I had even told him the whole spiel on how I usually spent my birthdays. Whiskey shots on the Highwind. Although the Highwind didn’t exist anymore so that put a dent in that plan.

“When’s _your_ birthday?”

Zack glanced over at me with a curious look on his face, “Mine? I was born April 8th. Why?”

“Just curious. What do you usually do for your birthday?”

“Well, the past few birthdays I’ve just hung out with the crew. We’d go out and drink, just hang out.” Zack replied. He chuckled to himself before continuing, “When I was a kid my parents would take me to pick plums and then my mom would bake a pie using it. I know that sounds kinda odd, but you see the plums were-”

“Gongaga Plums. They’re the _sweetest_ plums in the universe. Gongaga has _acres_ of plum trees.”

Zack came to a screeching stop in the sand. I jogged a few steps ahead, but then stopped as well to glance back at the look of shock on his face. He pointed at me and raised an eyebrow, “Gongaga? Gongaga plums… you know and—and orchards? You _know_? Most people have no idea what I’m talking about.”

“Oh, I was born in Gongaga. Cloud never mentioned that?”

He put a hand to his forehead, “No, he didn’t! You’re from Gongaga?! Wait, do I know-”

I quickly shook my head to end the question before he even had to ask, “My family and I moved to Rad- er, Hollow Bastion really early on. You wouldn’t have known us.” I shrugged and gave him a quick dismissive wave, “I barely even remember Gongaga. My mom would tell me about it though, she used to say that she’d take me to the Orchards eventually so we could watch the pyreflies.”

Zack nodded once his smile simmering down to a soft one, “Yeah, as a kid I used to try and catch them with friends. It used to be amazing.”

“Used to?” I could feel my features scrunch up in confusion.

Zack tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth just to close it again. He looked as confused as I was, but I didn’t understand why. A tense moment passed before his confusion turned to regret and he took a step closer, “Um, Gongaga… the Mako Reactor it, uh, it went into meltdown 5 years ago and destroyed a lot of the town.”

“ _W_ - _What_?”

“It devastated the orchard and… well, nothing has grown there since.” Zack said softly.

I blinked in shock and tore my gaze away from him to look out over the ocean. The orchards were gone? I hadn’t thought about it since coming back, but there was a part of me that always planned to go out to Gongaga one day and see the orchards myself. Mom used to talk so much about them, it had been her favorite part of Gongaga.

“I’m so sorry.” Zack set a hesitant hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t know that you didn’t know. I wouldn’t have…”

I quickly shook my head and crossed my arms tightly across my chest. It didn’t feel right that the Orchards were gone. My plan had always been a _‘when will I go?’_ not a _‘will I go?’_ , but to have that taken from me completely in the span of one casual conversation was jarring to say the least. I would never get to see, in person, the Orchards my mom loved. Everything she described to me, the earthy smell mixing with the sweet tang of the plums, the mix of pink and white flowers raining from the branches from a strong breeze, all of this was something I’d only remember from stories. I couldn’t experience it. I was too late.

“It’s ok.” I forced a smile. He didn’t mean to hit me with such bummer news this early in the morning. I didn’t blame him. “What—What did you say happened?”

Zack and I began to slowly drag our feet just a couple feet from the edge of where the water kissed the sand. He sighed, “The Mako Reactor had been rundown for a while, I’m sure you knew that much”, I didn’t. I was around when they set those Mako Reactors up for the first time all over the universe. They were important sites in the war used for energy and power to beat back the darkness. They were very well kept and very well protected. “Eventually it got to the point of no return. No amount of care could reverse the meltdown. The North side exploded and took out the upper half of town and then the radiation of the Mako seeped into the ground and poisoned the Orchards. Nothing would grow after that, and without the money the Orchards brought in the town couldn’t rebuild.”

“Oh.” I let out a shaky breath. Why hadn’t they kept up with the Mako Reactor in Gongaga? Did they let all the Reactors go to hell like that? There was still a lot I hadn’t caught up with I realized. Granted, I wasn’t actively seeking out the information and that was on me. I should’ve been more proactive about it, but I was worried the information I found would upset me. Kind of like this situation I was in now. “Were you there at the time?”

Zack shook his head, “No, I was here on the island going to school. I was a junior at the time. My parents lived on the island then too to be with me, so they weren’t there either. It was… _well_ , it was good timing for our family. I’m thankful for that.” He paused before offering me another tight smile, “They’ve moved back there now. It’s always been home for them and they’re stubborn like that, but… Gongaga is definitely different now.”

“I always wanted to go back there. See what my mom loved.” I explained as nonchalantly as I could. “Guess I missed my chance…”

“I’m sorry.” Zack said. I glanced at him, at the sound of sincerity in his voice, and I could see it on his face now as well. He truly did regret telling me this news and felt badly at my now lost dream.

I gave him a smile, “No, it’s ok. It’s not your fault and at least I know now.”

“Still, I hate that I was the bearer of bad news.” Zack replied sheepishly. “Here I was trying to convince you to hang out with me more and I go and ruin your entire day.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, “I promise not to hold it against you.”

Zack still had a guilty look on his face despite my reassurances that I didn’t blame him. The poor guy looked like a kicked puppy and his guilt was almost making me feel guilty weirdly enough. I gave him another smile and tried to reassure him again. He sighed in response, glanced out ahead of us and suddenly the look of guilt morphed into one of determination.

“I know. Let’s get you back to running like you were _before_ I ruined your day.”

“ _Again_ , it isn’t your fault-”

“How about a friendly competition?” He suggested and the words caught my attention with ease. I did very much love a little competition. Zack came to a stop and I followed his lead. He pointed way up ahead to where I could see the outline of a dock jutting out into the water. It was an easy landmark to spot for me because that’s usually where my morning run ended. “We race to the dock.”

I bobbed my head then shot him a small smirk, “Ok, and what do I get when I win?”

“ _Wow_!” Zack bellowed and put his hands on his hips again, “Very confident in your running skills, I see.”

That I was. Everyone has a special talent that they are above average at. Mine was running. Even before all the training I had to endure, running had come easy to me. I had always been the kid on the playground that nobody could catch up to. After training, well that skill had only grown exponentially.

“I’ve always been… quick on my feet.” I shrugged then narrowed my eyes at him, “You better not go easy on me though. If you just let me win, I’ll be even _more_ upset at you.”

Zack leaned towards me with a cheeky look, “So you admit you’re a _little_ upset at me?”

“So, are you gonna tell me my prize or not?”

“Loser buys breakfast.” Zack replied.

I chuckled while quickly stretching out my back, “Who says I even want breakfast with you?”

Zack shook his finger at me, “You already said we should hang out more and despite my blunders I’m not letting you get out of that.”

I just smiled at his answer and got in position beside him. He did the same and gave me a smug look as he began to count down. I focused my gaze ahead and as soon as he said ‘ _Go_!’ I took off. Zack made a noise of surprise as I pulled ahead with ease and then I heard him grunt once as he put in more effort to try and catch up. Without breaking a sweat, I pumped my arms and pulled ahead even further. My feet flew over the sand, careful not to lose my balance on the shifting texture beneath me.

Zack wasn’t slow by any means and he had once again got close as we reached the halfway point. I scrunched my nose and propelled myself forward pushing as hard as I could to put some space between us again.

_‘You can run as much as you want, you’ll always end up in my hands though.’_

The poisonous words rang in my head like loud bells and I sucked in a sharp breath from the shock of them. It had felt like someone poured ice water down my back. My foot landed in the sand wrong, twisted to the side awkwardly with a stabbing pain, and then I went down hard.

“[ _Name_ ]!”

Sand was in my mouth and shoved down my sports bra from the fall, but all I could focus on were the ringing words of Jax in my head. It was what he had said to me very early on in our prison when I had tried to just run. I had thought if I was always running then he’d never get to touch me, but just like he said I always ended up in his hands.

At the end of his blade.

“ _Shit_.” Zack cursed and knelt beside me. He set his hand on my shoulder to help me sit up and I flinched at his touch. “You ok??”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I said quickly and took in a breath with my eyes closed. Jax wasn’t here. I was ok. Everything was ok. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see Zack’s concerned ones staring at me. I shook my head at him, “Really, I’m fine. Wasn’t paying attention and I—I stepped wrong in the sand.”

Zack nodded once and then glanced down at my ankle. He hissed to himself, “Damn, it looks like it’s swelling.”

He reached out to lightly touch the ankle, but I quickly tried to stand on my own, “Really I’m fine. My pride hurts worse than anything.”

As soon as I tried to put pressure on the ankle, I fell forward again. Zack was there to catch and hold me up before I hit the sand again. My hands reached out to grab his arms to stabilize myself.

“You shouldn’t stand on that. Come on, let’s get you to town.”

I went to argue, but Zack scooped me up into his arms with ease. My face went red in surprise as I wrapped my arms around his bare shoulders in response. He jogged ahead with me held against his chest like I weighed nothing to him.

“You don’t have to carry me, I can-”

“What? _Limp_ all the way to town?” Zack chuckled. His amusement died down in a defeated sigh, “First, I tell you about Gongaga. Then, I break your ankle. I swear, [Name], I’m not usually this much of a _disaster_.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his tone, “Zack, this isn’t your fault either and now you’re carrying me into town like a knight in shining armor.”

Zack smiled at me but didn’t reply. He continued to jog down the beach until we reached the beachside shops at the edge of town. The few people who were milling around this early in the day gave us curious looks, but I didn’t blame them. Zack was shirtless carrying me, who only wore spandex shorts and a sports bra, off the beach. Both of us sweaty and covered in a layer of sand.

He stopped by what looked like a small restaurant and set me down in one of the outdoor patio seats. Zack held a finger out to me before running inside. I leaned back in the metal seat and took a deep breath. I had been better about sparking on accident the past week, but with the news of Gongaga and now the sharp pain throbbing up my leg, I could feel the energy bristling along my skin. I clapped my hands together, letting the sparks jump off once, before pushing the rest of it into my mom’s wedding ring and down my legs into the rubber of my tennis shoes.

Zack came out a couple minutes later with a bag of ice. He sat down beside me and without hesitation carefully pulled my slightly swollen ankle into his lap. My jaw fell open to complain, but then he set the ice on top of my skin and the complaints turned to sharp hiss of pain.

“Sorry about that.”

“No, no.” I shook my head and felt my shoulders relax, “It feels good now, just cold.”

Zack nodded, “I called Aerith while I was in there too. She’s gonna swing by.”

Aerith, as I had learned, was at the Institute to become an actual Healer. She wasn’t like Cloud who was taking Magic and Meds as just an elective to balance out his fighting. Aerith wanted to be a full time Healer and according to the others she was _very_ good at it as well. Healing magic had come a long way since my time and I didn’t know much about it now or what training to be a Healer looked like, but if the others said Aerith was the best I believed them.

“I don’t wanna bother her this early. How come you didn’t just call Cloud?”

Zack chuckled, “You don’t mind bothering Cloud this early?”

It wasn’t entirely that. Just being closer to Cloud meant I didn’t feel as much guilt interrupting his day. Besides, I knew he was already up because I had been texting him before my run. He was an early bird on the weekdays.

I didn’t have to express that though because Zack shook his head, “No, if I called Cloud to tell him that I _broke your ankle_ on the beach he would’ve absolutely _slaughtered_ me so…”

I rolled my eyes at him, “You didn’t cause this, and my ankle _isn’t_ broken. It’s just sprained. Mr. Dramatic.”

Zack readjusted the ice on my ankle, “Tell me honestly, did you fall on purpose? To make my ego feel better about losing the race? Because I definitely wasn’t going to win that.”

“Aw, Zack.” I smiled sweetly before commenting bluntly, “I would _never_ throw a competition for the sake of your ego.”

He laughed loudly at my statement, “Seriously, you’re fast as hell, [Name]. I really didn’t expect that at all.”

The two of us fell into small talk about our schedules for the rest of this Monday, but the talk only lasted about five minutes before Aerith came jogging over. She waved at Zack before resting her hand on my shoulders and crouching down to eye level with me.

“[Name], are you alright?” She asked with worry. Her hair was messily put up into a bun and she wore just a large t-shirt and cotton shorts. It looked like she had just gotten out of bed based on the outfit alone.

“I’m fine. I’m so sorry you had to come out here this early, Aerith.” I apologized.

Aerith gave me a bright smile, “Don’t be silly. I’m more than happy to help out. Plus, my apartment isn’t even that far from here.”

Zack stood carefully, my ankle in hand, and offered Aerith the seat. She quickly sat down and the moment she did Zack passed my foot over to her. She set aside the ice and began to take off my shoe. I hissed at the movement and she apologized under her breath.

“We were racing on the beach and she fell.” Zack crossed his arms, “You should’ve seen her though, Aerith. I think she might be faster than Riku.”

Aerith glanced up from my ankle in surprise, “Riku Gallagher? Sora’s friend?”

Zack nodded in excitement, “Yeah! I mean, she beat me!”

Aerith narrowed her eyes at him, “Riku is faster than you though.”

“Ok, _barely_!” Zack argued and I chuckled under my breath at his tone.

Aerith lightly placed her fingers around the most swollen part and I recognized the green healing magic she began to pulse into my ankle. I was mesmerized by the swirling, light green patterns that traced my skin. Aerith’s healing magic was a lighter shade of green than Cloud’s. I wonder why that was.

She did this for another minute before pulling her hands back. My ankle was back to normal color and size. I pulled my foot out of her lap and tested it out by rotating it around.

“There we go.” She chimed. “I’d take it easy for the next couple days though. Even with magic, ankles are kind of tricky. It takes the ligaments a few days to fully absorb the magic.”

I slipped my shoe back on and then stood alongside her, “Thank you so much, Aerith. I’d hug you if I weren’t covered in sweat and sand.”

Aerith waved off my words before pulling me into a hug. She said her goodbyes before heading back the way she came. I watched her leave before looking over at Zack who was already staring. He put on a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head.

“I’d invite you out for the breakfast I owe you, but at the rate today is going you’d choke, or a meteor would fall out of the sky and hit you.”

“How about we get breakfast tomorrow? Tuesdays can’t be as unlucky as Mondays.” I suggested and he nodded in agreement. “And hey thanks for carrying me up here to be healed and… and for telling me about Gongaga.”

“[Name]-”

I shook my head and interrupted him, “No, I needed to know that. I’ll see you around, yeah?”

Zack paused before nodding with a small smile, “Yeah. Have a good day at school, [Name].”

With one last smile, I turned and started to head back to the apartment. It was a little past 7 now which meant I didn’t have much time to do the rest of my workout. Plus, Aerith had said I should take it easy anyways. As I got closer to the apartment, the clouds had darkened, and I saw heat lighting in the distance. If nothing else went right today, I at least had the upcoming storm to look forward to.

**++++**

Axel had his hands around the coffee mug, the warmth of his skin keeping the drink at the temperature he liked. His first class of the day didn’t start until 11, but he was supposed to meet his little high schooler of a best friend before his classes started for the day.

The front door swung open again and a familiar blond came in behind a group of sophomore high schoolers. Roxas had on a black and white windbreaker over his school uniform for the bad weather that was already starting to roll in. He jogged over with a shake of his head and sat down, “Sorry about that. Ven made me late.”

“You shouldn’t blame others for your own flaws, Roxy.”

“Oh, fuck off.” Roxas scoffed before taking a large gulp of the coffee Axel had ordered for him. The blond always was testy before his first coffee of the morning. He set the cup down and leaned back in his seat, “Where have you been anyway? Xion and I have only seen you in passing.”

Axel shrugged and lied effortlessly, “Just been busy with classes is all.”

“Yeah, because you’re _such_ a star student.”

“I resent that implication.”

Roxas chuckled and began to rant about the reason why Ven made him late this morning. Axel enjoyed listening to Roxas bitch about his twin. It really had been too long since he hung out with the blond. He needed to get lunch with Xion today too or something. The two of them had just been preoccupied with a new island resident and Axel had wanted no part of that.

“…and now I’m _really_ curious as to what he plans on getting [Name] for her birthday.” Roxas wrapped up the story and Axel had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at where it ended up. Roxas seemed to pick up on some of the distaste however because he added, “I mean, I’m sure he’ll get something good. He’s usually pretty good about that kind of stuff. They’ve just been super close since the beach camping trip.”

“Yeah, yeah, Ven’s a sweetheart when he’s not being a little shit.” Axel said, but quickly moved to change the topic, “How’s training with Leonhart been?”

The two of them spoke about class and Axel was happy to hear that it was going well for Roxas. He knew the younger guy wasn’t as gung-ho about training like others at the Academy and the Institute. As Cloud’s younger brother and Ven’s twin, he had a lot to represent, especially since he was the lone dual wielding Keyblader on the island, but Roxas had never had a passion for it like his brothers.

The conversation had moved onto Xion and her photography when the front doors slammed open and Demyx stumbled into the coffee shop. Demyx’s sandy blond hair was still his typical mullet, one of his guitars was strapped onto his back, but the ditzy man wore a look of nervousness on his face that Axel was curious about.

“Why does Demyx look like someone asked him to fist fight Tifa?” Roxas asked.

Axel shrugged, “Good question.”

Demyx’s blue eyes finally landed on them and he rushed over, stumbling into a couple getting up from the table beside them. Axel kicked out the chair and Demyx fell into it, his guitar making a strange noise as it hit the wooden chair.

“I figured you’d be _unbearably_ annoying today considering it’s gonna rain.” Axel commented. Demyx reached for Roxas’ cup, but the younger blond pulled it away from his reach with a glare. Axel rolled his eyes and pushed his own forward. Demyx chugged it all in one go and Axel threw his hand up in defeated irritation. “Demyx, what’s wrong with you?”

“I just met that new girl.” Demyx shook his head, his eyes were focused on a spot ahead of him rather than on them. “I just met-”

“You said that already.”

Demyx shook his head, “I ran into her out in the courtyard. She was with Ven.”

Roxas scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion, “You mean [Name]?”

“Yes.” Demyx’s eyes snapped to Roxas’ and Roxas leaned back further away from the Water Elemental who was obviously having some sort of mental breakdown. “She’s… She’s _weird_. I don’t—nope, I don’t like that.”

Axel watched as Roxas’ facial features hardened. The oddness of Demyx’s behavior was forgotten as Roxas leaned forward to address him, “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? What’d you do to her?”

“What did I— _What did I do?_?” Demyx promptly stood up nearly knocking the chair over backwards, “Nothing! I want nothing to do with her! I gotta—I gotta go.”

Axel didn’t move as Demyx ran out the coffee shop. Demyx had always been a bit of an oddball when it came to certain things. This reaction, though curious, didn’t shock Axel all too much. If [Name] had reacted to him the same way she reacted to Axel, then his demeanor made sense. Demyx always did panic when women freaked out on him.

“I’m gonna text Ven and make sure she’s ok.” Roxas already had his phone out.

Axel scoffed, “Why?”

“[Name] is… I’ve been meaning to tell you, but [Name]’s kind of in a weird situation. She has a… a past, and Cloud made it our job to make sure she’s ok at school.” Roxas shrugged, “Plus, now it’s more than that. I _like_ her, she’s fun to hang out with. She’s a friend, and _we look out for our friends_.”

The last few words were the same that Axel had told him years and years ago. Roxas was a loyal friend and no part of that was a shock to Axel. The redhead sighed to himself and waved his hand at him, “Just don’t stress about it. She probably just told Demyx off...”

Axel had mumbled out the last bit, but Roxas had caught every word. He set his phone down, “What are you talking about?”

The plan hadn’t been to talk to Roxas about this, at least not yet, but maybe this was for the better. He missed hanging out with him and Xion and as long as this [Name] girl was in the picture throwing her weird grudge around then he wouldn’t get to do that. Not without telling Roxas the truth.

“Your new, cool, friend is a _bigot_.”

There was nothing but the sound of the coffee shop buzzing around them as Roxas stared at Axel. His eyes went from surprised to confused to angry. Axel should’ve seen this turning to anger pretty quickly.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, it was too early for this even with coffee, “This [Name] girl _hates_ Elementals.”

“That’s not true she isn’t like-”

“She _told_ me, to my face, that the last thing she wants is a fucking Fire Elemental in her life.” Axel scoffed. He could feel his energy boiling at the memory. His confusion on the matter before had turned to anger pretty quickly. “Now it looks like she’s done the same to poor Demyx. Poor guy probably shit his pants when she snapped at him.”

Roxas shook his head, “Demyx said-”

“He said that he didn’t do anything to her, not that she didn’t do anything to him.”

“She’s been _nothing_ but nice to us. The camping trip and all of last week has been fun. She’s hung out with us a lot and-”

Axel laced his fingers together, “And none of you are Elementals.”

There was silence again and Axel had to watch as Roxas’ anger simmered back down to confusion. He didn’t want to upset his friend this way, but this was news that Roxas would have to learn eventually. It was better that it came from him rather than someone else, right?

“Roxas”, Axel said slowly, “She hates my guts and she hates my guts only because of what I am. I saw it in her eyes. Her hatred for me may not be born of ignorance or whatever, but it was hate nonetheless.”

Roxas stood up, his face still twisted in confusion, “I gotta get to class. I’ll see you later, Ax.”

“Later, man. Sorry.” Axel apologized and watched as his friend left the coffee shop. It wasn’t the greatest start to his Monday, but what did he expect?

Nothing good came from days that stormed.

**++++**

“So why do I have this terrible feeling that the Biology test this Friday is going to absolutely suck?” I scooped up my book and notebook from the benchtop and glanced over my shoulder at Namine who was doing the same. We stepped out into the crowded hallway and carefully avoided the lunchtime rush of all the students around us.

Namine giggled and bumped her shoulder into mine, “That’s because it will. Dr. Primrose is _notorious_ for his exams. He likes his trick questions.”

“That’s a dick move.” I grumbled and Namine laughed at my comment.

We walked over to our lockers, which were only a few apart from each other, to put away our belongings for lunch. My locker was still broken from the first day and could no longer actually lock, but it didn’t seem like that big of a deal. I wouldn’t be heartbroken if someone stole my history book.

Namine was saying something, but my eyes drifted to the large windows where rain was pouring out of the sky. A flash of lightning in the distance followed by thunder had my lips twitch up. Being indoors kept me from feeling the electricity in the air, but I could imagine it and that was enough for now.

“[Name]?” Namine tapped on my shoulder breaking me out of my trance. “You ok?”

“Yeah, sorry. I was just looking at the-” I motioned to the window. “The storm.”

Namine nodded and we walked away from the windows to get to the stairs, “I didn’t think we’d get the storms this soon in the season. This means the Monsoon Festival will start getting planned though. They like to have it at the very beginning when the storms are still scattered.”

“Monsoon Festival?” I questioned. It sounded vaguely familiar.

An arm dropped down on my shoulder at the same time that one fell around Namine’s shoulder. Ven leaned in between us with a wide grin, “Hey there, ladies. How was science? Do I have anything to look forward to?”

“Dr. Primrose gave us a review to start looking over for the test this Friday.” I answered.

Ven groaned, “So I’m skipping then?”

“Only if you want Cloud to kill you.” Namine shook her head, then leaned forward to shoot me a glance, “The Monsoon Festival is so much fun. You’re gonna love it.”

Ven pulled his arms off us to clap his hands together, “Monsoon Festival!”

I rolled my eyes with a chuckle, “Saying the name again doesn’t tell me what it is.”

“The Island hosts this giant two-day festival at the beginning of the monsoon season. The first day is to honor old traditions and the second day is more of a modern music festival. It’s a ton of fun.” Namine explained.

Ven smirked, “It’s to honor our rain gods and to ask them nicely not to wash our town away.”

The three of us got down to the lunchroom which was already packed and buzzing with life. As with every other aspect of this school, the lunchroom was impressive in both size and build. The lunchroom sat on the second floor, above the training gym, and despite its large size it was only about half the size of the gym. Still, it had more than enough room to fit the entire student body. It had a similar color scheme as the rest of the Academy, and the entire back wall was made of windows which usually allowed Destiny Island’s sunlight to come streaming through. Today, however, the room had the glow of artificial lighting only as the storm continued to beat against the glass.

“Oh, I see Jordan, I need to ask her something about Literature. I’ll see you guys at the table!” Namine chirped and squeezed my arm once before hurrying across the hall.

Ven set his hand against my upper back and pushed me toward the food, “Let’s hurry before the curly fries are gone.”

I let Ven push me along waving at a few students who I recognized from some of my other classes. Since we got had gotten back from the camping trip, I noticed the group I had chosen to spend my time with were the kind of friends who indulged in physical touch. It was little things like Namine squeezing my arm or Ven keeping his hand against my back. It was a weird thing to get used to at first for me. Even back when I felt fully in control of my power and wasn’t worried about accidentally shocking people, random physical touches weren’t our go to. Our squadron back in the day was close, very close I would say, but that just wasn’t how we showed our care or affection.

It made me curious where that stemmed from with this group.

“Hello?” Ven snapped his fingers in front of my face making me jump back into reality. He smirked at me, “You here today, space cadet?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here.” I waved his hand away and grabbed a tray.

Ven shrugged, his tray and plate already piled high with curly fries, “I’m just making sure. You’ve been spacey since we met Demyx this morning. I knew he weirded you out.”

Demyx. The Water Elemental. That had been a surprise. I had never met a Water Elemental before, but I had always wanted to. They were technically the element that my kind affected negatively. I had met my own negative element, some Earth Elementals, in the past and it was it’s own unique experience. They always felt like a void to me, like they were a giant black hole that was sucking the energy straight out of me to themselves. Still, as dreadful and exhausting as it felt, it was for the most part manageable. Demyx, when he met me, straight up went into a panic attack.

He didn’t know what I was, I made sure I wasn’t giving off any sort of vibe of my element, but still he looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an 18-wheeler. The guy babbled, fell over himself stumbling backwards away from me, and then sprinted off to God knows where. I hadn’t ever talked to anyone about their own personal experiences with their negative element, but based off what I had seen people experienced it differently.

“See, you’re doing it again.” Ven commented.

I rolled my eyes and reached for a sandwich for my tray, “Maybe I’m zoning out because you’re boring me.”

“That’s impossible.” Ven waited for me to grab the last of my food before we walked over to the cashier together, “I’m _nothing_ if not _entertaining_.”

I laughed at his statement and we paid before heading over to the table. Apparently, they had claimed this table for themselves since they started at the Academy years ago. It was a rectangle table with five stools on one side and five on the other. The table itself was right by the window which made it prime real estate. Kairi, Riku, and Namine were already seated with their food, Riku and Kairi on the side facing the window while Namine had her back to it. The rain and lightning right beside them didn’t seem to even faze a single one of them. They must be used to the storms.

Ven took his seat across from Kairi and I sat down between him and Namine. Riku skeptically eyed Ven’s plate of literally only fries, “Got enough fries there, Ven?”

“I don’t like your tone.” Ven replied, snatching up a couple to eat obnoxiously while Riku rolled his eyes at him.

Namine and Kairi continued on talking about whatever they had been before Ven and I had sat down, but less than a mile out behind the glass lightning struck. It was close enough that even with the glass separating me from the outside air I could still feel the reverberations of leftover energy. I dropped my hands down into my lap in worry that my own energy would flare out in an unconscious response.

“[Name]?” I turned my head to Kairi who had said my name. There was concern in her eyes as she continued her question, “Are you ok? Did you hear me?”

I shook my head and offered her an apologetic smile, “No, sorry, I… I zoned out.”

“She’s been doing that since Demyx freaked her out this morning.” Ven added lazily, he didn’t bother looking up from the pile of ketchup he was pouring on his plate.

“What happened with Demyx?” Riku asked quickly.

I shook my head, “It was _nothing_. We ran into him and he was just kinda—well, kinda jumpy?”

Namine shrugged, “It is a stormy day. Demyx always gets a little more odd when it rains.”

“And that’s saying something because the guy’s got screws loose even on a normal day.” Ven motioned to his own head with a fry before shoving it down his throat.

“Really, I don’t think that has anything to do with anything.” I tried to reassure them, “I just… the storm is kind of distracting.”

They all seemed to get the same look of dawning realization on their face at once. Kairi was the first to snap out of it and offer me a bright smile, “The storms here do get pretty bad. All the buildings on the island were built to withstand that kind of weather though. You have _nothing_ to worry about.”

Ven bumped his shoulder with me, letting his head tap the top of it briefly, and that was when the dawning realization hit me. They thought I was scared of the storm and that’s what had me distracted. I blinked in surprise before giving them a grateful smile. Them thinking that was easier than me trying to explain that the distraction was coming from the fact that I wanted nothing more than to run out into the storm to get hit by lightning.

“We’re just all really used to it.” Namine shrugged.

“Hey guys!” Sora bounded over and clapped Riku on the shoulders with a shake. Riku, who had been mid-sip of his drink, choked on it, but Sora didn’t seem concerned by it whatsoever as he dropped down into his seat across from me between Kairi and Riku. Ven snickered at Riku, who shot him a glare, while Sora beamed a greeting at Kairi. “Crazy weather, huh?”

Ven shifted his plate toward me and I gave him a smile and took a fry off it. Sora reached forward to grab one himself, but Ven smacked his hand away. Sora pouted, “No fair. You shared with [Name].”

“[Name] is adorable.” Ven replied swiftly, “You are annoying.”

“That’s a riot coming from you.” Riku grumbled.

I glanced around the cafeteria while Riku and Ven argued, but I didn’t spot Xion or Roxas anywhere. Kairi seemed to notice this and spoke up, “They’re meeting with Axel for lunch. Xion texted me earlier.”

“I knew she was, but Roxas too? I thought he met Axel this morning.” Namine added.

Kairi just shrugged and took a fry herself, making Sora pout all the more, “Yeah he did, but since he wasn’t here, I assumed he just grabbed lunch with them too. Where else would he be?”

“That’s true. My brother is _never_ late for Curly Fries Monday.”

“Roxas would share with me.” Sora jutted his lower lip out to look as pathetic as he could in the moment.

Ven scoffed and rolled his eyes before pushing his plate toward the young man who was bright eyed and ecstatic now, “That’s an _absolute_ lie.”

Another strike of lightning, this time close enough that the thunder made the window behind me rattle and shake. I clenched my hand and let the excess sparks push into my mom’s ring. Namine rubbed my back in comfort and I shot her a thankful look.

Lunch continued as it usually did with random conversations and more talk of this Monsoon Festival that everyone was incredibly excited for apparently. I vaguely remember being on the island and participating in some sort of ritual or celebration dealing with the rain, but it definitely wasn’t anything like they were talking about now. I’d have to ask Cid about it later when I saw him for dinner.

When the bell rang signaling the end of lunch, we all went back up to the third floor for classes where we went our separate ways. Kairi and I had the last three classes of the day together, so she walked me toward my locker.

“I’ll show you pictures of last year’s Monsoon Festival when we get to the library.” Kairi chirped. She noticed someone familiar down the South Wing and I told her I’d meet her at the library when I was done with my locker. She brushed her hand against my shoulder before leaving me.

I grabbed my Biology notes so I could look over them in Study Hall, but then also grabbed my Literature materials so I wouldn’t have to stop by my locker again. After closing the broken door, I turned and noticed Roxas walking toward his class.

“Roxas hey!” I jogged toward him so I could say hi before class. “We missed you and Xion at lunch today.”

Roxas stopped at my voice and turned to look at me, but there was a look on his face that I didn’t immediately recognize. His hair was damp, making the blond locks look darker than they actually were, and rainwater still dripped from his windbreaker. I noticed his windbreaker was the same as Ven’s just black and white in color instead of green and grey.

He glanced over his shoulder before looking back at me. His shoulders were tense and his eyebrows were furrowed in annoyance or confusion, it was hard to tell. I took a step toward him with worry, “Are you ok? You seem upset?”

“[Name]”, He bit his lower lip once in hesitation before continuing, “How do you feel about—about Elementals?”

My heart came to a shuddering stop. Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit. Did he know? Did Roxas know I was an Elemental? My eyes glanced down to my fingers, but there was no blue light there. I looked back up at him and swallowed the lump in my throat.

“W-What?”

“Just… You know, what do you think of them?”

He had just come from a lunch with Axel, right? Did that fucking Fire Elemental say something to him? Did the Fire Elemental know too? I had been very, very careful around everyone. They shouldn’t know. They shouldn’t be able to tell, but with the storm raging above us maybe I was slipping up and not even knowing it.

“I… I don’t know.” I shrugged then held my books tightly against my chest, “I haven’t spent a lot of time around them to be honest. There weren’t a lot of Elementals out where I was… the outer rim worlds, I mean.”

Was that convincing enough? Roxas didn’t reply to me. He just stared at my features as if waiting for more to come from me. I bit my tongue though. The more I babbled the worse it would be. I said my piece, not I just had to stick to it. His eyebrows and features relaxed and rather than being a mixture of confusion and annoyance, he just looked sad. Sad and… and worried?

“What did you say or do to Demyx?”

The question knocked me off guard. Firstly, I hadn’t expected it. Secondly, I had done nothing except exist. Was this where this stemmed from? Had Demyx somehow known? If anyone on this island could figure it out it would be a Water Elemental.

“I didn’t do anything.” I shook my head with furrowed brows, “He freaked out on me and Ven. I didn’t say a word.”

The warning bell for our classes rang above us, startling us both.

He nodded once and took a step back, “We should get to class. I’ll see you 6th period.”

Roxas turned on his heel and hurried down the hall. I wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened in that encounter with him, but it didn’t bode well.

**++++**

Cloud picked up the wooden sparring sword and tested the weight in his hand. This one was a bit off balance and would probably need a little more work. He tossed it aside and picked up another. It was between classes for him right now and rather than looking over his Meds and Magic notes he was checking sparring swords for Leon. He saw it as a testament to how good of a friend he was. More honestly, he just owed the brunet for God knows how many reasons. This seemed like an easy favor to repay.

The door swung open and Cloud glanced up to see Zack poke his head in. He narrowed his eyes at him, “Zack? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same.” Zack stepped into the gear room and sat down on the bench in front of him. “Yuffie told me I’d find you here. Why are you here?”

Cloud waved the wooden sword in his hand, “Helping Leon out. Why are you looking for me?”

“What? I can’t just look for my good friend Cloud so I can hang out with him?” Zack scoffed with his arms outstretched and a mock look of hurt on his face. Cloud shot him a deadpanned glare and Zack chuckled, “Ok, yeah you got me, I wanted to ask you about [Name].”

“Is she ok?” Cloud asked in worry.

“Oh yeah, yeah.” Zack replied quickly then paused, “Well, I mean, she is _now_.”

Cloud pointed the rounded off end of the wooden sword in his hand at Zack with a glare, “What the hell does that mean?”

Zack held his hands up in surrender, but his face still wore a cheeky grin, “I ran into her this morning and it was kind of a disaster.” Zack let his hands fall to his lap as he chuckled to himself, “I mean, it was a real _disaster_! I think I almost made her cry when I told her about the Gongaga Reactor meltdown—which by the way, why the hell didn’t you tell me about her being from Gongaga??”

Cloud blinked in confusion at the whiplash he was getting from listening to his friend talk about whatever had happened this morning, “It… It never came up, _did_ she cry??”

“No, no, but she was definitely taken aback, I felt really bad about it.” Zack rubbed the back of his neck, “And then when I tried to cheer her up with a race, she fell and sprained her ankle pretty bad.”

Cloud’s eyes widened in surprise as he stepped toward him, wooden sword still in hand, “What?? Why didn’t you call me??”

“Because I figured 7 AM was too early for you to commit homicide?” Zack eyed the wooden sword warily. He cleared his throat, “I called Aerith, she came by and fixed her ankle. It’s fine now, I swear.”

Cloud tried to resist the urge to hit Zack with the sparring sword. It’d be like Zack to make him worry for no damn reason. He’d text [Name] later to make sure her ankle was doing alright, but more so to make sure she was handling the news of Gongaga ok. Hell, he felt bad she had to hear it like that. He hadn’t even thought to bring it up with her or ask Auron or Cid if he should. That was on him.

“Like I said, just a straight disaster. I’ve never been so _unsmooth_ in my entire life. It was like everything I said or suggested just blew up _immediately_ in front of me.” Zack continued to babble about the odd morning he had. Cloud tossed the wooden sword aside to pick up the next one. This one felt more balanced than the last few. He twisted it around so he could hold it in both hands and test its strength. “So hey, can I ask her out on a date?”

Cloud’s hands slipped and he snapped the sword in two.

Zack stared at him with a raised eyebrow while Cloud just stared at the broken sword he now held. He dropped the two pieces and turned to look at Zack who was still staring, but now with his mouth slightly agape.

“Uh, what?”

Zack slowly stood up, “Hey, man, I should’ve asked this first… I know you told all of us that you aren’t dating her…”

“I’m _not_.” Cloud said firmly.

“But if you have feelings for her or think you might or whatever, just—just tell me.” Zack gave him a smile, “You knew her first and if there _is_ something there that you just don’t want us to know about yet, I’ll back off.”

Cloud appreciated his words, but they were hardly needed. He didn’t like [Name] like that. She was a friend. She was a _good_ friend. She was a good friend, and she _needed_ his support and help. That was it. She looked to him as an ally and that was that.

“We’re just _friends_.” Cloud repeated, though he could tell his tone wasn’t as firm as it was before. “Why—Why do you want to ask her out anyways? You just said this morning was a disaster.”

Zack grinned, “Yeah! I made a plan in my head and I thought I knew how it was gonna play out, but literally _nothing_ went the way I assumed it would. Interacting with her is like…like an _enigma_. Plus, she’s gorgeous and she’s funny and do I need more reasons than that?”

“I just didn’t know you were interested in her like that.”

He shrugged, “I didn’t think about it until this morning.”

Cloud scooped up the broken sword to toss it into the trashcan in the corner of the room. He crossed his arms, “Zack, I don’t know about this, and it’s not because I have an interest in her like that, it’s because she’s… she’s going through a _lot_ right now and I’m worried this could make things harder for her.”

“I know, I know. Relax, Cloud.” Zack clapped him on the shoulder, “I wasn’t going to go out and ask her on a date _today_. I just wanted to let you know that I have an interest and to double check that this didn’t step on your toes.” He chuckled and shook a finger at him, “You know Cloud, I know you wanna take care of her, but you’re _not_ her dad.”

Cloud still wasn’t happy at the prospect and he was convinced it was because this whole idea could worsen her healing potentially. Still, hearing Zack’s comment made him chuckle in amusement to himself. That was true. Cloud was not her dad.

Cloud was the one to clap his shoulder this time, and he couldn’t wipe off the smirk on his face as he spoke “You’re right. I’m not her dad. Auron is.”

“Yeah, Auron is.” Zack agreed, but when he said the words himself, it finally dawned on him. His smile fell and he flinched, “Oh. _Auron_ is.”

Cloud squeezed his shoulder once before leaving the room. The rest of the sparring swords would be good enough probably. Besides, it looked like Zack needed the moment alone to consider things further.

**++++**

I sat in the bleachers wearing the training gear of shorts and a t-shirt, I even had a sports bra under the shirt, but in my lap sat Biology notes and Literature homework that I was trying to work on. This is typically how training period went. I sat off to the side working on my homework while Squall taught everyone else how to fight. I shouldn’t say ‘ _taught them’_ to fight though. It seemed like everyone in this class had a pretty good handle on fighting. It wasn’t at the level I saw with Cloud and his friends quite yet, but they had raw talent. Squall was just here to hone that talent.

The sound of footsteps on the bleachers made me look up from my book to see Squall himself climbing the bleachers one step at a time before he dropped down in the seat beside me. I blinked in shock at him, before turning my gaze forward again.

He just sat there. Not moving or speaking. Squall just watched the students on the floor work on sword combat using wooden sparring weapons.

“Umm, hi.” I greeted awkwardly. Ever since I told him that I wasn’t going to be training, Squall ignored me for the most part during 6th period. It wasn’t his fault and I wasn’t upset at the fact. He had a class to focus on and teach. Besides, he was nothing but nice and civil anytime I ran into him while hanging out with Cloud or Yuffie or Tifa and Aerith. “What’s… uh, what’s up?”

Squall turned to look at me and it was only then that I realized how intimidating this guy could really be. His gray blue eyes weren’t necessarily cold, but the look of nonchalance and distrust on his features definitely sent a chill to my core.

“You can run.” He said simply.

“Uhhhhh, yes?”

“It wasn’t a question.” He replied and turned his gaze back to the floor, “I was talking to Zack. He was bragging about you. Said you were faster than him, maybe faster than Riku even.”

His words toward the end came out as a soft scoff. As if he didn’t actually believe that portion of the story but felt obligated to share it anyways. I didn’t speak up and tell him that it was true. I’ve seen Riku run and move during training. He was without a doubt the fastest of his class and would be a real opponent if I ever decided to race him.

But I could beat him.

I was sure of that.

“I think Zack is giving me more credit than I deserve. I mean, I basically broke my ankle this morning racing him.” I said jokingly with a chuckle. Squall didn’t laugh with me. The amusement in my voice died as I fidgeted with the book and papers in my lap. Why was it so nerve wracking to be around this guy?

Squall nodded his head once and I followed his gaze to see him motioning toward the obstacle course, “Ever tried something like that before?”

“A couple times. At my old school.” I twisted my lips and kept my answer as simple as I could. How many times had I been put through an obstacle course? Good God, numbers didn’t go that high. There wasn’t a training session with me that didn’t include at least one obstacle course. They were built to keep my speed and agility as peak levels. Early on, they had given up on trying to get my defensive skills to mediocre. They figured since I was so God-awful at that, they’d focus on keeping me quick.

You can’t hit what you can’t catch.

Squall suddenly leaned back so his right foot was propped up against the bench in front and below us while his back leaned against the bench behind and right above us. His arms were crossed over his chest and despite his relaxed position I felt even more on edge.

“Yuffie said if I stress you out in any way, shape, or form, that she would strangle me to death in my sleep.” Squall said in a matter-of-fact tone. Despite my worry, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the statement. Yuffie seemed to be more protective over me than Cloud and Auron and Cid. Which was saying something. He continued, “I’m not trying to stress you out, [Name]. I just want to help you.”

“Help me how?”

“I think it’s important for a girl your age to be able to keep herself safe. Especially with the worlds around us being how they are.”

I shook my head and shifted slightly so my body was turned a bit toward him, “The worlds are at peace.”

Squall held my gaze, “Just because the worlds’ leaders are stating that we are in _‘an era of peace_ ’ doesn’t mean there isn’t _real_ danger in the worlds, and I think that someone like you…” I stiffened at his words, “Someone like you, who _comes_ from the outer rim worlds, would know that better than anyone.”

I fidgeted in my seat, my fingers digging into one another, “What are you trying to say, Squall?”

“We have a wide spectrum of students at the Academy and the Institute. Healers, Defenders, Students of Magical studies… Not everyone is going to be in combat. Not every mission given out is one that requires fighting.” Squall tore his eyes away from mine to look back over the students, “I don’t know much about what you’ve had to go through, but as your training instructor it’s my job to make sure you’re equipped to handle anything that happens from here on out.”

Auron had told him to leave me alone. Cid had told him to leave me alone. Hell, even Cloud had told him to leave me alone. I figured that was the reason why he didn’t acknowledge me before now during class. I would’ve never guessed he felt this way at all, but maybe that was because I didn’t really know this guy and it was looking like my first assumptions were off base. If he truly felt this way, well I respected that. Not enough to pick up a sword, but still.

“You’re a good man. _Honorable_.” I said. His eyes snapped to me in surprise. I gave him a smile, “I appreciate you trying to help me, but there’s a lot there that… I can’t just move past it. I’ll run for you though. I’ll work on the obstacle course if it makes you feel better.”

Squall nodded with a low chuckle, “I’ll take it.” He pushed himself into a seated position than stood up, “Aerith said your ankle needs some rest. We’ll start next Monday.”

“A whole week? Isn’t that kind of an excessive amount of rest time for an already healed ankle?”

Squall smirked at me and for the briefest moment I saw a flash of a mischievous Sora, “Enjoy your last week off in my class.”

He walked down the rest of the bleachers back to the crowd of sparring students. The sound of wood clanking against wood and teasing taunts still echoing through the large gym. My eyes darted to Roxas who was sparring against Riku. He was the only student in this class using two wooden sparring swords. One in each hand. Roxas wasn’t upset like he had been before 4th period. His teeth were clenched as he swung another attack at Riku who blocked it with ease. Roxas did seem angrier and more frustrated during this fight. He usually didn’t take sparring so seriously.

I looked away from him, trying to refocus myself on my homework, but I caught a glance of Kairi before my sight reached my book. She wasn’t sparring with swords. Kairi was training to be a Healer like Aerith so she was off to the side with the few other Healers in this class practicing low level hand to hand combat. She was the exact opposite of Roxas though. Kairi seemed entirely disinterested in what she was doing. I had taken notice of that earlier too.

Kairi never seemed very interested in training and her mood, no matter how cheery in previous classes, always soured when we got to the gym. I had chalked it up to her not liking training, but that didn’t seem to fit her anymore. Kairi was so athletic and she loved physical activity and sports so much that it didn’t make sense that she hated training. I watched her spar on the beach with Ven just for fun and when it came to hand to hand combat, she kicked his ass.

She was fighting some boy I couldn’t remember the name of, but her attention continued to drift to the other students fighting with the wooden swords. I tried to follow her line of sight as best I could from the angle I was at, and it traced all the way to the center of the group where Sora was sparring Ven. The two of them were the loudest as they laughed and goaded one another. Was that the issue? Despite breaking up with him, was Kairi still stuck on Sora?

**++++**

School had ended about an hour and a half ago, and Roxas really had no reason to still be on campus any longer. Soccer practice and training didn’t start up again until about mid-Fall, there was no Photography club meeting today, a club he had only joined to appease Xion, and since it was Monday he didn’t have extended training. Yet here was, standing under an Academy awning as rain poured down from the sky. With the major storm of the monsoon season hitting today it meant that preparations for the ‘ _Monsoon Festival’_ would be underway. Roxas couldn’t even bring himself to be excited about that right now. Not today.

He pulled his hood over his head and ran out into the storm. With every step he sent up a spray of water that soaked his pants, but there was no avoiding that. It took a couple minutes to get over to the Institute and by time he stepped into the freezing cold halls he was dripping with water.

Roxas yanked off his hood and ran a hand through his hair before starting to look for the staircase to the next floor. His sneakers slipped on the tile, nearly causing him to fall, and he spat out a curse in annoyance before continuing on his mission to find his brother.

Ten minutes later, Roxas stood in front of a navy, wooden door with the numbers ‘ _213’_ painted on it in gold metal twisting his phone in his hands. He was positive this was the study room his brother had claimed along with his friends, but these study rooms weren’t like the ones in the Academy with open windows into the hall and broad floor plans you could look into. Everything about the Institute was closed off and professional. It was one of the things he wasn’t overly excited for when he’d be a student here next year.

Roxas huffed in annoyance before rapping his knuckles across the wood. He couldn’t put this conversation off forever. The door swung open and Cloud seemed surprised to see him standing there.

“Roxas? I thought you were Leon.” Cloud walked back to his seat with a grumble.

“Shouldn’t Leon have access to this room on his own? Like a key or something?” Roxas glanced around. The room was about medium in size with a large board room style table sitting in the middle with black office chairs around it. The far wall had a window that faced outside, surprisingly, and the other wall had a large white board with writing already covering nearly every inch of it.

Cloud scooped up a green marker and went to the white board Roxas had been staring at, “Yeah he has a keycard, but he went to get food. Figured he had no hands to get in. What do you want?”

“I just had a question.” Roxas shrugged and picked up a blue marker resting against the board. He uncapped the marker and moved to write his name just for the sake of doing so when a green marker bounced off the side of his head. Roxas shot his brother a glare and rubbed at the tender spot, “Mom said you need to stop throwing things at our heads, you know.”

“You have a question? One that can’t be asked over text?” Cloud pressed.

Roxas put the blue marker down then scooped up the green one to toss back to his brother, “We wanna use our place to throw [Name]’s surprise birthday party. That ok with you?”

“This Thursday, right?” Cloud asked and when Roxas nodded his head the older blond crossed his arms, “Yeah, of course it’s ok. What’s really up?”

Roxas knew it was hopeless to even try and dance around the issue with Cloud. From the day they were born, it seemed like Cloud was always able to pick up on even the littlest of topics when it came to him or his twin. Besides, this is the real reason why he came by rather than just shooting Cloud a text about the party.

“It’s about [Name].”

Cloud tensed, “Is she ok?”

Roxas twisted his lips at Cloud’s tone. He was still having a tough time pinning down the exact reason for Cloud’s growing concerns. He had seen his brother with crushes on other girls and this didn’t seem to fit that bill, but it also went beyond the kind of concern he showed just a friend.

“She’s fine.” Roxas shoved his hands into his windbreaker’s pockets.

Cloud nodded once, “Good. You know, you’re the second person to come to me today asking about her. First Zack, now you…” His thought trailed off and he motioned for Roxas to continue, “So what’s up then?”

Roxas swallowed the lump in his throat, “I was just talking… Well, I mean I… Cloud, I think she might be an Elemental bigot.”

There was a pause in the room, the kind of pause one could hear a pin drop with, but the silence was short lived as Roxas’ _caring_ older brother burst into a round of loud laughter. At first, Roxas could only stare as Cloud dropped into his seat and held his stomach while laughing. Once the shock wore off though, he narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

“Cloud, I’m _serious_ here!” Roxas snapped. “I was talking to Axel and she _hates_ him. Absolutely _loathes_ him!”

“And _you_ think it’s because she _hates_ Elementals??” Cloud snickered.

“Well, what else could it be?!”

Cloud sucked in a deep breath to try and calm himself, but the chuckles still rolled out between words, “Trust me, Rox. There’s _plenty_ of other reasons to hate Axel.” Roxas opened his mouth to argue, but Cloud held up his hand to interrupt him. “Seriously. She doesn’t hate Elementals. I don’t know what Axel did to piss her off, though I could probably guess if I had to, but there’s something else happening there.”

Roxas wasn’t happy with that answer. Again, it was the kind of conversation that left him with more questions than he had started with, but it seemed like that was just the usual when it came to talking to Cloud about [Name].

“How are you so sure?” Roxas asked in hopes to get just a little more information.

Cloud hesitated briefly, just long enough for Roxas to barely notice, but the sound of knocking on the door interrupted them. Roxas didn’t move to answer the door, he just stared at his older brother in waiting. Cloud stood up and crossed the small space to clasp him around the back of his neck with a tight-lipped smile, “You’re barking up the wrong tree, brother. Trust me.”

Cloud squeezed the back of his neck comfortingly before releasing him and opening the door to reveal Leon with hands full of food. The brunet gave him a curious glance, “Roxas? What are you doing here?”

“He just had a quick question.” Cloud replied for him and grabbed some of the food to carry to the table while Leon stepped in a shook water drops from his damp hair.

Roxas pulled his hood over his messy hair, “I’ll see you at home later. Bye, Leon.”

Both guys gave him brief goodbyes, but Roxas didn’t linger long enough to even hear the ends of it. He was out in the hall moving to the exit with broad steps. Before he knew it, he was standing outside under the awning watching the rain pour down again. Roxas just stood there a moment, his phone held loosely in his hand.

Despite popular belief, Axel was a trustworthy guy. He was with his friends at least. Axel had been there for Roxas since his first day on the island. He had his back through every issue and every insecurity. So, when Axel said that [Name] hated him for being an Elemental he couldn’t just brush that statement aside. Axel wasn’t a liar and though he loved drama, the guy probably knew every rumor floating around the island and the mainland, he never started something just for the sake of starting something.

On the other hand, [Name] had never struck him as the hateful kind. Roxas didn’t know a lot about her, that couldn’t be ignored, but he always prided himself on his gut instinct of good versus bad. And [Name] had always felt good to him. She was odd and a little awkward sometimes. She still had this nervous energy around her from time to time, but she had gotten a lot better over the past week. She didn’t flinch when someone touched her anymore. She didn’t try to avoid them or not meet their eyes. Hell, she wasn’t trying to hide her personality anymore either. [Name] would snark back at Riku or Ven when they deserved it. She’d joke with them, laugh with them. Something had hurt her, hurt her badly, and though that scar still showed she was trying to move forward.

His hand tightened around his phone. Roxas couldn’t decide if he wanted to text Axel or [Name] to ask his next curious question. He settled on shoving his phone back into his pocket with a shake of his head then drew his hood up and ran out into the rain.

**++++**

“Monomers that bond together to form protein molecules?” Ven read from one of the flashcards we had borrowed from Namine.

“Amino Acids.” I answered. Ven grumbled that I was correct and rolled one of his tropical flavored skittles across the kitchen island to me. I let it sit with the rest of my small pile of colorful skittles that I had stolen from him. With one hand I popped one of my own sour skittles in my mouth before grabbing the next flashcard to read, “What does a competitive inhibitor do?”

Ven scoffed, “That’s so much harder than the one I just asked you.”

“Answer the question, Mr. Strife.”

Ven hummed in thought before answering, “Uh, it binds to the site and keeps other things from binding to the site.”

I pointed the card at him, “Allosteric site or Active site?”

He twisted his lips before snapping his fingers, “Active.”

“See.” I nodded and rolled him one of my sour skittles, “You know things.”

Ven motioned to his pile of 3 tropical skittles and now 1 sour, “Yeah, I’m a genius.” With a laugh I pushed all his tropical skittles back at him. Ven tried to fight my hands, “Excuse you, I don’t want pity candy.”

“Oh, don’t be a sore loser.” I threw two more sour ones into my mouth, my lips twisting at the taste, “I like the sour ones better anyways.”

Ven put the blue sour one I rolled him into his mouth and scrunched his nose up in distaste before shaking his head, “You and Roxas are freaks. Who wants their candy to taste like this? Honestly…”

“Roxas likes sour candy too?” I asked curiously. Right now, I was sitting in the Strife kitchen, but Ven and I were the only ones here. Cloud was still studying on campus, I knew this from texting him, but Roxas was who knows where. Ven had texted his twin but got no reply. He didn’t seem overly concerned by this though.

Ven stuffed four or five of his own skittles into his mouth before standing, “Can we call it quits? We’ve been doing this forever.”

“It’s been thirty minutes, you dork.”

“That’s a lot for me. Usually I just study the night before the test. It’s Monday and you got me looking over shit.” Ven walked toward the living room and I turned on my stool to watch him. “Don’t get used to this. I’m only appeasing your study habits because it’s your birthday week.”

I laughed and got up to sit with him on the couch, “So you’re saying after my birthday passes you’re gonna go back to procrastinating and not studying for anything?”

“Absolutely.” He replied bluntly while turning on the TV.

Ven switched the channel to a sports game and I pulled my phone out to play with it while he was focused in on whatever was happening on the television. There was a comfortable silence between us that I had gotten used to a week ago. I actually spent a surprising amount of time at the Strife household. Sometimes others from school were here, sometimes Cloud or Roxas were home, but my time was a majority of the time spent with Ven. I was more than ok with this set up, I loved hanging out with Ven, but there was still a voice at the back of my head that made me doubtful. What if Ven just hung around me as a favor to his brother or to make sure I wasn’t going to spiral into myself again?

That nagging voice wouldn’t let me stop worrying that this was a friendship born and wallowing in pity.

“How much do you know about baseball?”

I looked up from my phone to see Ven looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I glanced at the TV where two sportscasters spoke about something or another then back to Ven, “Uh, they hit a ball and run in a diamond?”

“You’re not wrong.” Ven grumbled then propped his feet up onto the coffee table, “Ok I gotta teach you what’s going on here. Rule number one, we root for the Midgar Lions.”

I tried to bite back my chuckle, “ _We_ root for the Midgar Lions? _We_?”

“Yes, this is a Midgar Lions household and we will _not_ accept any criticism or disrespect.” Ven replied with the utmost seriousness. “Whether it be baseball, football, soccer, or even basketball, we _bleed_ black and gold.”

Midway through his statement the front door opened and a sopping wet Roxas stepped into the Strife’s open floorplan. I stared at him and his gaze didn’t drift from mine. He pulled his hood off, water dripping off his jacket onto the wooden floor, “Ven giving you the Midgar Lions speech?”

“Yeah, I’m… I’m apparently a fan now.” I replied nervously. Our last conversation had been strained and odd, and I honestly didn’t know where to go from here. Do I just pretend that didn’t happen? That he didn’t ask what he did, or am I supposed to bring it up again?

Ven stood up, “You guys think I’m kidding. I’ve already ordered her a jersey for gamedays.” He pointed at his brother, “I’ll grab you a towel just stay there.”

As Ven left the room to run upstairs for a towel the awkwardness in the room only rose. I was frozen in my seat unsure if I should go over to him or just avoid eye contact entirely. Roxas cleared his throat and pulled off his windbreaker to set on the coat rack by the door.

“Hey so—”

“[Name]—”

The two of us ended up speaking at the same time only to stop and try and let the other speak. When the same thing happened again we both chuckled, and I was happy to see that he was able to see humor in this situation right now. That meant something had changed since after lunch.

“Ven got you trapped here again?” Roxas asked.

I stood up to get closer and leaned against the back of the single seat couch with my arms crossed, “I wouldn’t say trapped. I like being here. Auron’s apartment is too quiet sometimes.”

“ _Where the hell are all our towels!?”_ Ven’s voice could be faintly heard from upstairs.

Roxas looked at the stairs with an exasperated sigh and shook his head. He focused back on me and a shadow of that same look from earlier was there on his face. I bit my lower lip nervously and fidgeted in place, “Roxas…”

“I didn’t mean to ambush you today in school like I did.” Roxas apologized. He ran a hand through his hair and more water droplets sprayed out from the motion. “Axel mentioned that… that it felt like there might be bad blood there and I just… I wanted to know. That didn’t give me the right to jump on you like that though.”

What did I say now? I couldn’t tell him the truth, but I always pegged Roxas as the kind to pick up on lies. Unlike his twin, when we first met, he had been wary at first. Rightfully so too. Still, admitting that I hated Axel because he reminded me of Jax was a can of worms I had no intention of opening up here and today.

“I _don’t_ hate Elementals.” I said. Maybe it would work best for me if I tried to stay as close to the actual truth as I could. “Axel is telling the truth that I… I wasn’t the nicest to him. I kind of snapped at him. I… I…”

“[Name]—”

“I’m _sorry_. I didn’t mean to upset you, I shouldn’t have said anything to Axel, it wasn’t my intention to hurt…” It wasn’t even a lie. I _did_ hate Axel, I couldn’t imagine feeling any other emotion for a Fire Elemental, but I hadn’t meant to yell at him, to say the things I did. I was content with pretending he just didn’t exist at all. I couldn’t just leave it at that though. The last thing I wanted was for Roxas to be upset at me or worse think I was some kind of Elemental bigot or something, but there was only so much I could say. “He shouldn’t have affected me like he did. I should’ve been able to control…”

Roxas took a step forward and set a hand on the side of my arm. I kept my arms crossed still though with my hands buried against my sides in an attempt to try and not shock him for offering comfort. It wouldn’t end well considering he was still soaking wet.

He shook his head once, “Just answer this, yes or no. Does this have to do with your past?” I bobbed my head up and down, my lips pressed tightly together. Roxas offered me a small smile, “Then that’s explanation enough. I won’t push.”

“Thank you.” I mumbled. How had I gotten so lucky? With the way my luck typically worked, with all the trouble I’ve caused and sins I’ve committed, it didn’t make sense that I had been blessed with these amazing people. The fact that they could let me in, show me care and comfort, yet understand that there was only so much I could share in return. I steadied myself, my energy, and then pulled one hand free to set on top of Roxas’ hand with a soft smile of my own.

“Ok”, Ven came bounding down the stairs with a ratty old towel, “Cloud staying on campus longer and longer is tearing this house apart. He didn’t even do laundry this weekend.”

Roxas took a step away from me just as Ven threw the balled-up towel right in his face. He caught it and glared at his twin, “It was _your_ turn this weekend to do laundry.”

“Oh. Oops.”

I laughed at Ven’s expense as Roxas tossed the towel to the floor to wipe away the puddles that had formed. Ven grinned at me and dragged me back down to the couch before delving into the rules of baseball and all the important stats and players of every Midgar Lion across every team they owned. The knowledge wasn’t something I was retaining, or even had an interest to retain really, but I leaned my head against the back of the couch with a smile and let Ven’s voice wash over me.


End file.
